Determining whether Upskilling is appropriate

MSD must assess whether Upskilling is suitable for a client and their circumstances before it may be imposed as a non-financial sanction.

Clients will keep getting their full benefit while completing Upskilling, instead of a 50% financial sanction.

MSD must consider any relevant factors before choosing to impose Upskilling. Examples of some factors to consider are listed below.

If Upskilling is not suitable a different non-financial sanction may be more appropriate.

Upskilling is intended for clients with limited work experience, levels of work readiness, or clients who want to upskill in a new field of work.

If a client has a significant work history, or has completed tertiary-level qualifications, Upskilling may not help the client get closer to finding work in their current field.

If a client has a gap in their work history, lacks certain skills, or is interested in changing their field of work, Upskilling may still be considered based on the client's circumstances.

Most employment-related training and courses for Upskilling will be completed online.

If there are no suitable online options, MSD should consider local availability of in-person courses.

In larger towns or cities, there may be suitable courses for a client to attend. In smaller areas, it may be harder to find a suitable training or course, or MSD may already know there is less availability there. It would be unreasonable to impose Upskilling if local knowledge/expertise indicates a low likelihood of a client successfully being enrolled in an Upskilling course.

If a client has already participated in and completed Upskilling courses, this may mean they are likely to commit to completing another Upskilling course.

However, if a client has participated in and completed several Upskilling courses already, a different type of sanction should be considered. This should be assessed based on the client's individual circumstances.

Clients must be able to report their participation in employment-related training or courses on MyMSD. MSD should consider a client's ability to access and report on MyMSD before imposing Upskilling. For example:

• the client must have access to a device they can access the internet on (this can include the kiosks at a service centre)
• if the client doesn't have access to a device, they can access the internet on, consider their ability to get to a service centre
• the client must have adequate digital literacy skills to access and report on their employment-related training or course