We will attract top data, digital and cyber talent, streamline recruitment processes and position ourselves as a modern employer in a challenging labour market.

Horizon 1 initiatives (year 1)

APS digital and cyber employee value proposition

Extend the APS Employee Value Proposition (EVP) for digital and cyber workers to attract the professional and technical capability needed in agencies.

The digital and cyber EVP will be based on research and co-design to identify attraction and retention drivers for digital and cyber employees, including targeted diversity cohorts (First Nations and women) and those seeking a career change.

This EVP will be supported by an awareness campaign to drive interest in joining the APS through content, employee stories and digital thought leadership.

A data-specific EVP is currently being developed by the APS Data Profession.

Enhance APS-wide recruitment programs and pathways

Leverage and improve existing recruitment programs and practices to further build awareness and affiliation with the APS employment brand amongst target candidates, including school leavers and career changers. 

Review existing programs including program efficiencies, agency adoption and additional career development methods such as secondments across the APS and into the private sector.

Re-position the Digital Traineeship Program as a mid-career or career transition program to support mid-career professionals seeking a career change, given that this program has shown high potential with a growing number of diverse applicants with significant work experience.

Raise awareness across the APS of the benefits of engaging mid-career employees, educate people leaders on the experiences of candidates in the APS Digital Traineeship Program and develop a range of materials to support agencies.

APS Career Pathfinder and APSJobs enhancements

Enhance Career Pathfinder and APSJobs to help the APS to find and manage the future APS workforce, support proactive talent engagement, improve job-ready skill acquisition and assist APS agencies with ongoing workforce and skills planning.

Horizon 2 initiatives (years 2 to 3)

Data, digital and cyber workforce recruitment pilot

Building off the digital and cyber EVP (Horizon 1) and the Innovative Hiring Practices initiative to be delivered by the Australian Public Service Commission, design and pilot a modernised hiring process for mid-career data, digital and cyber workers that balances time-to-hire with quality-of-hire considerations.

Digital Role Description Library extension

Extend the Digital Role Description Library in the Career Pathfinder to encompass emerging roles and encourage its broader adoption. Role description templates will be written by domain professionals for domain professionals that reduce jargon and foster inclusive work practices.

In addition, certain roles (such as Chief Information Security Officer) would benefit from consistency in definition and accountability standards based on the approach taken by the Digital Transformation Agency in developing a standard for officials who are accountable for their agency’s implementation of the Policy for the responsible use of AI in government.

Data and Digital Cadet Program extension

Engage with academia to attract graduates straight from VET/TAFE and universities, and extend the Data and Digital Cadet Program to include those interested in pursuing cyber security careers in the APS.

Develop targeted attraction campaigns for engaging First Nations graduates and female graduates. Incorporate targets into the Data and Digital Cadet Program for hiring of First Nations employees and women. 

AI skills suggester

Scope the development of, or investment in, an AI skills suggester integrated in the Career Pathfinder Tool to match jobs with skills and to connect non-APS job seekers with relevant APS employment opportunities.

Horizon 3 initiatives (years 4 to 5)

Reduce barriers to re-entry

Work across the APS to:

  • reduce inefficient practices and hurdles that typically deter former employees from re-joining the APS
  • enable the APS to rapidly recapture essential talent
  • strengthen cross-sector collaboration
  • increase the likelihood of top talent viewing the APS as a flexible and long-term career option.

Supporting activities and enablers

Key activities underway that support this plan.

APS Employee Value Proposition

The APS Employee Value Proposition (EVP) was developed during 2023 and is now available on APSJobs, alongside stories featuring APS employees. 

A strong, authentic and well-communicated EVP is critical to positioning the APS as a model employer so it can attract and retain the workforce it needs now and into the future.

The EVP is supported by periodic paid social media placement to raise awareness of and affiliation with the APS employment brand. The EVP will be reviewed regularly to ensure it continues to reflect the strengths of the APS offer and remains relevant in the employment market over time.

APS data employee value proposition

The Data Profession is developing a whole-of-APS data employee value proposition (EVP). 

Supported career pathways    

Several whole-of-government programs provide supported career pathways for new and experienced workers to join the APS, for example:

  • Data cadets 
  • APS Digital Traineeship Program
  • Australian Government Graduate Program (in particular, the STEM, Digital, Intelligence and Data streams).

APS Location Framework

Employing a workforce in a range of locations can help agencies fill critical skill gaps, support connection to country and community, strengthen diversity and support stakeholder relationships.

The APS Location Framework equips agencies to use workforce location as a tool to attract and retain people who have the skills the APS needs, now and into the future. It connects agency heads and their corporate teams to tools that can support their decisions on appropriate workforce locations in Australia and shows what it looks like to manage and support a dispersed workforce well.

Innovative hiring practices, including enhancing the sharing of merit lists

The APSC is supporting agencies to attract the workforces they need through the piloting of innovative attraction, assessment and recruitment options, and the provision of better practice APS recruitment guidance.

SES100

The SES100 initiative supports the government's commitment to boost First Nations employment across the APS by increasing representation at the Senior Executive Service (SES) levels to 100 by 2024-25. Round 2 of the SES100 initiative includes professional streams for both digital and data professionals.

Job Family Framework review

The Australian Public Service Commission routinely reviews and updates the APS Job Family Framework to ensure it remains relevant and fit for purpose. The framework is currently being updated to align with Australian Bureau of Statistics and Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) data.

APS Gender Equality Strategy 2021-2026

The APS Gender Equality Strategy 2021-26 seeks to drive practical and impactful action for lasting change.

Affirmative measures (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and those with disability)

Affirmative measures provisions within the Public Service Act allows particular jobs in the APS to be open to certain cohorts. This applies to people with disability and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australians. The measures are designed to address the under-representation of each cohort in the APS. 

NSW Digital Skills and Workforce Compact

The compact is a partnership between the NSW Government, the digital industry and education and training sectors seeking to leverage a collective approach to effectively address projected digital workforce shortages in NSW.

Note: NSW Digital Skills and Workforce Compact | NSW Government

Case study: streamlining the tech hiring process

Services Australia: enterprise architect recruitment pilot

The enterprise architect recruitment pilot was initiated in response to Services Australia's growing need for architectural expertise to support its expanding technological offerings. With the rapid pace of technological innovation, it became clear that attracting and retaining top-tier enterprise architects was crucial for maintaining competitive advantage and driving strategic initiatives. The pilot aimed to refine the recruitment process and attract the best talent available.

To achieve this, the pilot established a multi-disciplinary team and embraced agile project methodologies, promoting a collaborative and adaptive working environment. A comprehensive labour market analysis was conducted to pinpoint talent trends and fine-tune recruitment strategies. Employee experiences were meticulously captured to gain insights into candidate expectations and Services Australia’s cultural dynamics. Furthermore, strategic communication tactics were deployed and social media platforms leveraged to build excitement, interest and engagement throughout the recruitment process. 

Candidate statistics reflected the project's success, with a notable increase in the quality and quantity of applicants. The recruitment process attracted a diverse pool of over 200 highly qualified candidates, with an interview-to-hire ratio of 5:1.

This influx of talent significantly strengthened the architectural expertise, driving innovation and strategic growth. Moreover, the positive feedback from candidates highlighted the effectiveness of the new recruitment strategies, further validating the project's approach and outcomes.