A to B
The APS Employee Census is an annual survey which is used to collect confidential attitude and opinion information from APS employees on issues in the workplace. It is an opportunity for APS employees to share their experiences of working in the APS.
APSJobs is a platform for government agencies (APS and non-APS) to advertise their vacant positions, notify of certain employment decisions, such as promotions, and to provide general information for job seekers.
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 within Australia and shows what it looks like to manage a dispersed workforce well.
The APS Strategic Commissioning Framework helps agency heads meet their responsibilities to reduce reliance on the external workforce and prioritise APS employment and capability.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is an engineered system that generates predictive outputs such as content, forecasts, recommendations or decisions for a given set of human-defined objectives or parameters without explicit programming. AI systems are designed to operate with varying levels of automation.
Attraction is the process of reaching individuals with the necessary skills and abilities to fill vacant positions within an organisation or industry.
The Australian Public Service (APS) comprises entities that employ their staff under the Public Service Act 1999.
Australian Public Service Employment Database (APSED). It includes information on staffing, including trends in the size, structure and composition of the APS, contributes to research and evaluation work on the changing nature of the APS and the impact of people management policies on the structure of the APS.
Average Staffing Level (ASL) refers to the number of full-time equivalent employees receiving salary or wages (paid FTE) by an organisation over the course of a financial year.
Budget Process Operational Rules (BPORs) are standing rules endorsed by the Cabinet that outline the major administrative and operational arrangements for managing the Australian Government Budget and its related processes.
C to E
Capability refers to what a person or organisation can do. In the context of this plan, people capability is the focus. There are many aspects of capability which can be described through industry and APS capability models.
Capability uplift is the process of improving the skills and knowledge of an organisation's employees to help them perform better in their roles. Additionally, it can help organisations prepare for new roles and challenges.
A career changer is someone who leaves one job or profession to pursue another. This can involve working in a different industry or organisation.
A career pathway is a defined route for professional growth and advancement within an industry or occupation.
A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and who come together to fulfill both individual and group goals. Community of Practices often focus on sharing best practices and creating new knowledge to advance a domain of professional practice.
Competency refers to the demonstrated capability of a person, often in the form of outcomes achieved in the workplace. A capability becomes a competency when it is expressed in terms of observable and measurable outcomes. A competency can be thought of a capability applied in context.
Cyber roles, for the purpose of this plan, implement, monitor and assure systems and processes that protect the integrity and security of an organisation’s digital environment and data. Many cyber roles are technical, such as Vulnerability Researcher, and Penetration Tester, while others are non-technical such as the Chief Information Security Officer and Operations Coordinator.
Cyber security includes measures used to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems, applications and data.
Data is any information in a form capable of being communicated, analysed or processed (whether by an individual or by computer or other automated means).
Data literacy is about being able to read, understand, create and communicate data in context.
Data maturity is a measure of an organisation’s current data management capabilities and capacity.
Data roles, for the purpose of this plan, are primarily those represented within the ‘Data and Research’ job family. They collect, analyse, interpret and manipulate data to drive smarter decisions across the APS. Most data professionals perform technical work, such as a Data Analyst, Statistician, and Data Scientist.
Deployment refers to the process of assigning employees to jobs and positions to achieve specific goals.
Digital and ICT Investment Oversight Framework (IOF) is a six-state, end-to-end framework providing a way for the government to manage digital investments across the entire project lifecycle.
Digital roles, for the purpose of this plan, are primarily those represented within the ‘ICT and Digital Solutions’ job family. Some examples of digital roles include Software Engineers, Technology Architects, and Interaction Designers.
Digital transformation refers to the government’s acceleration of reforms and investments to enable greater adoption of digital technologies, supporting the government vision to deliver simple, secure and connected public services, for all people and business, through world class data and digital capabilities.
Domain, for the purpose of this plan, is an area of interest, or high level grouping of related job roles. Within this plan, digital, data and cyber are considered professional domains.
An employee value proposition (EVP) is a statement outlining the unique set of benefits, rewards, and values that an organisation offers its employees in exchange for their skills, experience, and commitment.
Engagement refers to the engagement or re-engagement of staff under Section 22 of the Public Service Act 1999.
Entities, for the purpose of this plan, refers to entities and companies within the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. See the Flipchart of Commonwealth entities and companies.
F to R
Fluency is a general capability related to being comfortable and productive in some area of activity.
Forecasting is the ability to use data and analysis to predict future events.
Generalist skills are those that are commonly demonstrated across the broader workforce.
Individual Flexibility Arrangements are a written agreement used by an employer and employee to change the effect of certain clauses in their award or registered agreement (such as an enterprise agreement).
The Job Family Framework (APS) is a workforce segmentation tool used for workforce planning purposes. It outlines an occupational grouping for the APS and is a way of defining and grouping roles that require the performance of similar or identical sets of tasks.
Labour market refers to the relationship between the supply of workers and the demand for workers. It's also known as the job market.
Legacy technology is an information system that may be based on outdated technologies but is critical to day-to-day operations.
Literacy is a general capability related to understanding and functioning adequately in some area of activity.
Micro-credentials are small, certification-style courses that focus on a particular area of study to hone proficiency over the shortest possible time.
Mobility refers to the movement of ongoing APS employees between agencies on a permanent basis.
Mobility rate represents the number of movements (promotion to another agency, permanent transfer, and transfer to a lower classification) divided by the average headcount for the same period.
Ongoing employment refers to the employment of an APS employee as an ongoing employee as mentioned in Section 22(2) (a) of the Public Service Act 1999.
Policy/government policy is the basic agreed principles by which government is guided. The APS provides policy advice to government decision makers, to equip them with the information they need to make the best possible decision.
Professional skills relate to someone competently performing activities in a specialist area of application in order to achieve organisational outcomes. Sometimes referred to as technical skills, these are skills that are only found in certain pockets of the workforce
Retention refers to an organisation’s ability to retain skilled employees over time, minimising turnover and ensuring that critical knowledge, skills and experience stay within the organisation.
S to Z
Separation, for the purpose of this plan, occurs when an employee ceases to be employed under the Public Service Act 1999. It does not refer to employees moving from one APS agency to another.
Skills based workforce planning refers to workforce planning that prioritises skills and competencies over traditional job classifications or roles.
Skills for the Information Age (SFIA) is a framework that defines the skills and competencies required by professionals who design, develop, implement, manage and protect the data and technology that power the digital world.
Specialist/specialisation refers to capability that typically only applies to a certain pocket of activity, often in just one industry or area of professional endeavour.
The State of the Service Report identifies year-to-year trends in the APS workforce. Information is collected through the annual APS agency survey, a census of all APS agencies with at least 20 employees.
Strategic workforce planning is a long-term, data-driven approach to aligning workforce supply, capability and demand with organisational objectives.
Technical leadership is about guiding and influencing primarily in a technical or other professional domain.
Upskilling and reskilling refers to programs designed to help employees develop new skills to stay relevant in evolving job markets.