Supporting Early Career Capability: Foundations for Safe and Sustainable Practice

Description:

Early career practice represents a critical transition period. How we design learning environments during this time shapes not only individual capability, but also workforce wellbeing, safety and retention.

This session explores the foundations of strong early career programs and the role supervisors, managers, educators and teams play in supporting safe progression toward competence. Drawing on evidence from workforce strategy, early career wellbeing research and established learning frameworks, the session highlights how clarity, psychological safety, structured supervision and intentional learning design reduce burnout risk and strengthen capability development.

While the focus is on supporting early career practitioners, the principles discussed are relevant to anyone involved in supporting staff development in complex clinical environments.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Understand why early career is a high-impact transition period and how learning environments influence safety, wellbeing, and retention.
2. Identify the core foundations of strong early career programs, including role clarity, structured supervision, psychological safety, and stage-aligned expectations.
3. Become familiar with a small number of learning frameworks that help explain how capability develops in early career.
4. Recognise how intentional learning design contributes to workforce sustainability and safer professional practice.

Intended Audience:

Educators, supervisors, managers, team leaders and clinicians involved in supporting early career practitioners in mental health and wellbeing services.
While focused on early career programs, this session will benefit anyone involved in staff development, supervision and capability building.

Facilitator: 

Liam McIntyre, Statewide Early in Career Educator, Local Mental Health and Wellbeing Services, Workforce Development & Education - Bayside Health

For more information on this series, visit The Summer Series.