Towards a vibrant, effective and valued peer workforce

Report from the National Peer Workforce Development Forum 2017. On 30 November 2017, thirty-eight mental health and addiction lived experience leaders met in Wellington for a forum to discuss and plan what peer and consumer workforce development in New Zealand could look like.

Participants were diverse. They came from across New Zealand and held a variety of roles, including advisors, educators, peer support workers, researchers and leadership positions in DHB and NGO mental health and addiction services.

The day started with a snapshot of where the peer workforce currently is at. Following this, participants outlined what a valued, effective and vibrant peer workforce of the future would look like under the headings of: “Where will we work? Who will we work with? What will we be doing? What will we need to support this?”

In the afternoon, a panel of four people from a variety of peer roles and perspectives outlined things they felt were important considerations going forward. Participants then described what was needed to get to the future under the five workforce development headings from the Mental Health and Addiction Workforce Action Plan 2017-2020. Feedback indicates peer leadership, experience and skills are pivotal in all areas of workforce development for true and sustainable growth and advancement of this workforce.

This resource documents participants’ concepts of what a valued, vibrant and effective peer workforce looks like and what is needed to get there.