Scope - Therapy, Training, Consultancy - Communication Resource Centre

Completed Research Partnership Activities

Speech Pathology Recruitment and Retention in Victoria
This was a collaborative project between the Communication Resource Centre, Monash University and Charles Sturt University – LaTrobe, and was being funded by Monash University Faculty of Medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate characteristics of advertised speech pathology positions and the ease with which they were filled, particularly for less attractive positions based in non-metropolitan locations or involving work with people with developmental disability. Contact persons for positions advertised mostly in newspapers over a 36-week period were recruited. There were 108 positions advertised, with 89 contact people agreeing to participate in two telephone surveys, including one conducted approximately one month after application closing dates. Positions represented a range of employment sectors, with Grade 2 followed by Grade 1 positions most frequent. Most (75%) positions were filled, but for 55% at grades other than that advertised. There was no evidence that positions in non-metropolitan positions or those involving work with people with developmental disability were particularly difficult to fill, but they did attract relatively few applicants. The data did, however, point to a potential mismatch between successful applicants’ level of experience and job requirements.
- Iacono, T., Johnson, H., Humphreys, J., & McAllister, L. (2005). “Speech pathology recruitment and retention in Victorian disability positions.” Paper presented at the 1st Asia-Pacific Regional Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability (IASSID), Tapei, Taiwan, June.
- Iacono, T., Johnson, H., Humphreys, J., & McAllister, L. (in press). Recruitment of speech pathologists into positions considered less attractive. Advances in Speech-Language Pathology.