Education is a Strategic Investment for the Nurse Workforce

How the Improvement Academy is committed to supporting nurses.

Nurses are one of the most trusted health professions in Australia and globally (ICN, 2026). They also represent the largest segment of the health workforce with approximately 467,000 nurses in Australia. Despite this, the system is facing a significant workforce challenge, with a projected shortfall of 70,707 nurses by 2035 (ACN, 2026). 

According to the Australian College of Nursing (ACN), addressing Australia’s healthcare challenges requires coordinated action across four strategic priority areas, including retaining and growing the workforce, expanding scope of practice, strengthening education pathways, and elevating nursing voices in leadership and decision-making. 

As healthcare systems continue to face growing workforce pressures, the need for practical education, leadership capability, and workforce development has never been greater. Nurses are increasingly being called upon not only to deliver high-quality care, but also to lead improvement initiatives, strengthen clinical governance, drive safety and quality outcomes, and respond to increasing system complexity. 
 

Supporting Nurses Through Capability Building 

The ACHS Improvement Academy has supported nurses through practical, applied education designed to build capability in real-world healthcare settings. In the last 5 years,, more than 4,500 nurses have participated in our online public training programs, building skills that support applied learning and improvement within the workforce. 

The Quality Improvement Lead (QIL) training program has helped nurses build leadership capability. Through work-based improvement projects, participants have delivered measurable outcomes that improve patient care, strengthen processes, and support safer healthcare delivery. 
 

This training was invaluable and a succinct description of what successful leadership looks like with handy hints to strengthen leadership skills for any or all leaders in any organisation 

- Marian Brown, Nurse Manager. 
 

Education Designed for Real-World Healthcare 

The Improvement Academy partners with healthcare organisations to deliver tailored Custom Training programs aligned to workforce capability needs and organisational priorities. Our approach focuses on building structured learning pathways that strengthen safety and quality capability across all levels of the workforce. 

Programs can be tailored for frontline clinicians, quality improvement leads, managers, executives, and boards, with training spanning areas such as Clinical Governance, Leadership, Open Disclosure, Quality Improvement, Human Factors Science, Consumer Engagement, and Patient Journey Mapping. 
 

The training was transformational to my understanding of translating clinical governance and quality improvement into best care and experience for consumers of health services. Translation of the theory of the intent of clinical governance and quality improvement into actions and outcomes was the take home message and very informative. 

- Caroline Harris, Clinical Governance & Nursing Strategic Advisor 
 

The ACHS Improvement Academy remains committed to supporting nurses throughout their professional journey by creating flexible learning opportunities and capability-building pathways that support career development, leadership growth, and continuous improvement. Learn more here.