In-demand skills

Traditional definitions of work and employment are dissolving. Work is no longer confined to specific job roles or fixed locations, and employment models are shifting away from traditional structures.

An employee’s capability consists of general and technical skills, knowledge, experience, behaviours and qualifications applied in context.

Professional skills and behaviours

APS Craft is comprised of the foundational capabilities required of all APS employees. They include integrity, working in government, engagement and partnership, and leadership and management. All areas of APS Craft are guided by the APS Values, which articulate the standard of behaviour expected of all APS employees. APS Craft capabilities are strengthened through the APS Academy, which is available to all employees. 

Technical and specialist skill requirements

There is currently no common approach to forecasting skill requirements across agencies.

A Digital Workforce Data Pilot was conducted by the Digital Transformation Agency in 2024. The pilot uncovered a number of complexities experienced by APS agencies in creating accurate skills forecasts and in understanding their future data, digital and cyber workforce needs. These included agency workforce planning maturity, short forecasting horizons, data standardisation challenges, gaps and inconsistencies in agency workforce data collection, and the inconsistent application of the APS Job Family and capability frameworks such as Skills for the Information Age (SFIA). In addition, the pilot found that the limited granularity of contractor data exacerbates this problem.

The annual State of the Service Report provides rich insights into the shared skills shortages across the APS. These skill shortages may be experienced across both the generalist and technical workforce and could be an indicator of unmet demand. Percentages are calculated based on the number of agencies specifying the critical shortage as a proportion of the total number of responding agencies, and agencies may select more than one critical skills shortage.

Data skill shortages

The State of the Service Report 2023-24 highlights that 70% of agencies continue to identify critical data skill shortages particularly in relation to data analysis, general data literacy, communication of data and data governance. 

Agency stakeholders consulted during the development of this plan further added that data management, data integration and data use/re-use were important capability gaps.

Digital and ICT skill shortages

According to the State of the Service Report 2023-24, Digital and ICT, and Portfolio, Program and Project Management represent two of the top three critical skills shortages across agencies. Particular pressure points are being experienced in relation to systems design, programming and specialist advice. Establishing clear pathways for acquiring or enhancing these skills will support agencies transition over time to new technology investments. 

Cyber skill shortages

More than 50% of agencies are experiencing critical cyber security skills shortages in their workforce, according to the State of the Service Report 2023-24. In particular, agency stakeholders consulted during the development of this plan highlighted that information security, legal and regulatory environment and compliance, and specialist advisory skills are most in demand.

Several key factors impacting the cyber skills deficit have been highlighted in the Cyber Strategy and the Executive Cyber Council’s Australian Cyber Workforce Program Phase 1 Final Report (2024). These include artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies that are transforming roles and reshaping skill requirements, a lack of job-ready experience and the absence of a national standard for cyber skills.

Foundational skill shortages

In addition to specialist skill shortages across the data, digital and cyber domains, there is a continuing demand for critical foundational skills such as web development, data governance and database administration. Weak foundations can lead to overly complex and expensive delivery, failed technology modernisation and cyber security risks. 

In-demand roles

Agency investment data shows that enterprise architects, cyber security analysts, IT and data architects, DevOps engineers and business and systems analysis are currently among the top 10 in-demand roles. 

Between September 2016 and October 2024, 40% of request for quotations (RFQs) for ICT labour hire under the Digital Marketplace were for roles in the ICT and Digital Solutions job family. Following this, a significant portion was for Portfolio, Program, and Project Management, as well as for Data and Research roles. The job roles in highest demand by far have been software engineers, solution architects, business analysts and project managers, while test analysts, data analysts, infrastructure engineers and delivery managers round out the top job roles (Reference: DTA 2024b).

To complement this analysis, several agencies identified gaps in critical roles. These roles were mapped to skills using the APS Career Pathfinder Tool and results collected during this plan’s development, are highlighted below.

Skills-first approach

The APS has a significant opportunity to transition from traditional role-based forecasting to a skills-first approach. This shift enables the APS to conduct comprehensive skill mapping exercises to identify the underlying skills required across APS and Senior Executive Service roles. By using frameworks such as SFIA, the APS can better address current and emerging skill shortages, tap into a larger and more diverse talent pool and enhance workforce agility and resilience. This approach improves workforce mobility, maximises the return on training investments and mitigates workforce-related risks in digital project delivery. 

In addition, adopting a skills-first approach unlocks opportunities for leveraging stackable skills to address skills shortages. This approach identifies adjacent roles and capabilities, such as those of ‘near-tech’ workers, and upskills them to meet emerging demands (ACS 2024). For example, there is a unique opportunity to harness the growing number of data graduates entering the APS and cultivate the skills that make them suitable for digital and cyber roles. 

The future modern workforce

The increasing uptake of no-code and low-code systems may be a game-changer for the APS in terms of demand for specialists and specialist skills in the digital domain. 

Where low-code development platforms require some basic coding skills for users to develop and integrate complex applications, no-code development platforms do not require specialist programming knowledge at all. A move to low or no-code development brings with it the rise of ‘citizen developers’ and access to a pool of possibly untapped potential among non-technical workers within the APS. This can potentially help to ease skill and talent shortages and set the stage for the future modern digital workforce. In addition, it has the potential to mitigate privacy and cyber security risks by the very nature of reducing reliance on third party specialists to develop code.