Government

VET-related occupational proportions

All of the main VET-related occupations identified in the Public Administration industry are projected to see employment growth between 2022 and 2026. This growth is particularly strong for Welfare Support Workers with a projected increase of 25%, followed by General Clerks with a projected increase of 13%, and Inspectors and Regulatory Officers with a projected increase of 12%. Information Officers are projected to have the lowest growth, at 3%.

VET-related occupation projections are also positive in Public Order, Safety and Regulatory services sector. Other Specialist Managers are projected to grow by 18% and General Clerks by 13% over the next few years to 2026.

Please note this does not include VET-related occupations that are not relevant to this cluster, such as police and fire-related occupations (covered in the Corrections and Public Safety industry cluster).

Program enrolments in the (PSP) Public Sector Training Package decreased from 28,830 in 2017 to just under 11,460 in 2019, and have remained at similar levels in the two years since. Program completions also declined sharply between 2017 and 2019 from approximately 16,270 to just over 6,800, after a slight rise in 2020 they have declined further to just under 6,300 in 2021.

Over the past five years the vast majority of subjects in the Public Sector Training Package were delivered as part of a nationally recognised program.

Program enrolments in the (LGA) Local Government Training Package have decreased from their peak in 2018 of around 1,040 to just over 550 in 2021. Completions peaked in 2020 at 300 and have declined in 2021 to just under 220.

Over the last five years the vast majority of Local Government-related subjects were delivered as part of a nationally recognised program (94% in 2021).

The Public Sector IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast highlighted the following priority skills for the Public Sector:

• Teamwork and communication
• Analytical thinking and innovation
• Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility.

In addition, the top generic skills identified for the Public Sector include:

• Design mindset / Thinking critically / System thinking / Solving problems
• Managerial leadership
• Communication / Virtual collaboration / Social intelligence
• Data analysis
• Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) (Foundation skills).

According to the job vacancy data, the top requested skills by employers in the Government industry were communication skills and planning. The most advertised occupations were Contract, Program and Project Administrators, and General Clerks. The top employers were the New South Wales Government and the Government of Queensland.

The Public Sector IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast identifies a number of key skills gaps across the Public Sector, including:

• Leadership – Associated skills range from technical skills to problem solving, project management, managing staff and managing change.
• Intercultural competence – Workers need skills to understand and value the input of all employees, regardless of their cultural or demographic background. The cultural diversity of communities will continue to require that Public Sector service delivery and public policy development be culturally appropriate, and safe.
• Technology – Digital literacy and being proficient in the use of different technological platforms are essential skills. Information and communications technology (ICT) developments are particularly having an impact on the skills needs of entry-level positions and early career roles in Public Sector agencies.
• Data skills – Data is a fundamental source of insight which Public Sector staff are increasingly drawing on to inform policy and program development and support decision-making processes. Understanding data and basic analysis and interrogation skills are important for many Public Sector roles.
• Soft skills – Soft skills include things like communication, teamwork, problem solving, emotional judgement, professional ethics and global citizenship.

The Public Sector IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast highlights the significance of the ageing workforce. Nearly half (48%) of the Australian Public Service (APS) workforce is aged 45 years or over. One of the most significant implications of an older workforce is the loss of skills and knowledge due to retirement. Attraction and development of staff to address the effects of an ageing workforce is a focus for many agencies, including introducing lifelong learning opportunities. Examples of programs and processes being applied to address the impact of an ageing workforce include: mentoring programs, leadership development programs and workplace exchanges with other agencies.

Delivering for Tomorrow: The APS Workforce Strategy 2025 represents an enterprise-wide view on how to equip the APS workforce to tackle immediate and emerging challenges, and highlights three key areas of focus through to 2025:

• Attract, build and retain skills, expertise and talent
• Embrace data, technology and flexible and responsive workforce models
• Strengthen integrity and purposeful leadership.

The Strategy identifies a suite of actions under each of the three focus areas and is designed to support APS agencies to identify and build the workforce and capabilities needed for the future.

As the APS continues to evolve to meet the growing challenges of the future, the Highly Capable, Future-Ready: APS Learning and Development Strategy focuses on the development of their greatest asset – their people. A knowledgeable and skilled public service is central to meeting the challenges that lay ahead and delivering outcomes for the Government and the Australian community. The Strategy highlights the need for a one-APS approach to lifting the skills and capability of the workforce to ensure a high performing, driven and trusted APS. Encouraging a culture of continuous individual and organisational investment in learning, sharing of learning resources, and partnering across the APS will be crucial. APS employees will need not only to develop new skills but stay open to new ideas and new ways of working.

The establishment of the APS Academy will support building the unique public service 'craft' capabilities to ensure access to the right learning at the right time. The APS Professions model has also been established to target priority capabilities, such as Data, Digital and Human Resources. The APS Academy and APS Professions will deliver consistently high quality learning and development options to the APS workforce, whatever their role and wherever they are located. The Action Plan sets out the practical steps to implement the Strategy over the next five years. It outlines a well-governed, targeted and collaborative approach to learning and development in the APS, ensuring the APS workforce has the capability to do their best work both today and in the future.

The APS Learning Board has been established by the Australian Public Service Commissioner to lead the transformation of APS-wide capability development, aligned with APS priorities. The Learning Board will:

• Operationalise the APS Learning and Development Strategy and Action Plan across the APS
• Translate priorities for APS capability development set by Secretaries Board
• Update Secretaries Board on Academy performance, as well as strategic insights and trends relevant to APS performance and capability
• Provide clarity on roles and responsibilities of all contributors to APS capability development, in order to reduce duplication and increase efficiencies across the APS
• Provide direction to the APS Academy and APS Academy Faculty in order to deliver a one-APS approach to building capability.

Senior Executive Service (SES) require a broad range of Leadership Capabilities to navigate the APS through increasing complexity. SES are expected to lead by motivating and organising people to produce outcomes that make a difference to the nation. It is not just about what they deliver, but also how they deliver through their teams and networks. This includes engaging others to innovate, collaborate, and create change. The APS Leadership Capability Framework makes clear the leadership capabilities considered critical for success in the most senior roles in the APS:

• Visionary – To provide the best policy advice to Government, senior leaders need to be able to scan the horizon for emerging trends, identifying opportunities and challenges for the nation.
• Influential – To take the Government's policy agenda forward, senior leaders need the capacity to persuade others towards an outcome, winning and maintaining the confidence of government and key stakeholders.
• Collaborative – In making progress on issues that cut across agencies, sectors and nations, senior leaders need to be able to develop relationships, build trust and find common ground with others. An openness to diverse perspectives is critical.
• Entrepreneurial – In finding new and better ways of achieving outcomes on behalf of Government and citizens, senior leaders need to be able to challenge current perspectives, generate new ideas and experiment with different approaches. They also need to be adept at managing risk.
• Enabling – Creating an environment that empowers individuals and teams to deliver their best for Government and citizens is a core requirement for senior leaders. This includes setting expectations, nurturing talent and building capability.
• Delivers – Senior leaders need to be highly skilled at managing the delivery of complex projects, programs and services. This includes harnessing the opportunity provided by digital technology to improve delivery outcomes for citizens.
• Courageous, Self-aware, Resilient, Citizen centric and Life-long learner – These personal qualities sit at the centre of effective leadership in the APS. For APS leaders, mobilising and driving change requires a strong capacity for action and an equally strong capacity for understanding and contending with constraints. Self-awareness, courage, resilience, citizen centricity and life-long learning enable senior leaders to hold steady through the challenges of leadership.

The Australian Government wants to lead the efficient, trusted and secure delivery of services to Australians online. The Digital Economy Strategy brings together policies and programs across government to ensure a clear path to 2030. The aim is that by 2030, Government service delivery will be frictionless and integrated with technology, making life easier – business and citizen interaction with Government services will be seamless and driven by customer experience. This will require high levels of cyber security across Australian Government systems to protect national security and personal information. There is significant work already occurring across the Australian Government in areas as diverse as privacy reform, cyber security and critical technology, the Consumer Data Right and technologies like 5G and artificial intelligence (AI). In the fast-moving digital world, much of this work needs to progress concurrently.

The ICT, Cyber Security and Digital Government Strategy: ICT and Digital Government's Plan for 2020 to 2025 outlines the aspirations and deliverables for South Australia over the next three and five years. Due to the interdependencies between technology, cyber and digital services, this Strategy brings together these three domains to ensure the Government is focused on the right priorities, in close collaboration with agencies. One of the key priorities is to address and reduce the cyber and digital skills gap by developing education, training and pathways through cyber security traineeships for Government, development of a cyber school curriculum and other skills growth activities.

Diversity in Public Sector workforces across the country continues to be a priority. The Northern Territory Public Sector (NTPS) strives to achieve a Public Sector that reflects the community it serves through inclusive and culturally appropriate programs, policy development and service delivery strategies. Aboriginal people make up over 30% of the Northern Territory population. As the largest employer in the Territory, the NTPS is in a strong position to take a leadership role in improving the employment and career opportunities of Aboriginal people. The Aboriginal Employment and Career Development Strategy 2021–25 highlights the NT Government's commitment to growing Aboriginal employment within the NTPS. The Strategy builds on previous successes and continues to work towards the global targets of 16% Aboriginal employment within the NTPS and 10% representation in senior positions.

The Workforce Diversification and Inclusion Strategy for WA Public Sector Employment 2020–2025 encompasses action plans for identified diversity groups as well as specific and aspirational targets for some of these groups to increase their representation in Public Sector employment. The targets for identified diversity groups are deliberately aspirational and transcend the five-year window to the end of 2025. The identified diversity groups are:

• Women – This plan aims to increase the representation of women in the Senior Executive Service (SES) to 50%. Representation of women employed in the SES has been increasing slowly over the years, with a marked increase in the growth rate since July 2018. Current representation is at 42.5% and is moving steadily in the right direction.
• Youth – This plan aims to increase the representation of youth in the Public Sector to 5.8%. Representation of youth in Public Sector employment has been declining over time. The target has been set so the representation of youth in Public Sector employment matches the representation of youth in the WA working age population who are not studying. Concerted effort is needed to first stop the current decline of youth employment in the sector and then increase it. Given the changing nature of the workforce – including higher levels of education for some entry level positions and staff working beyond the traditional retirement age – the relative representation of youth in Public Sector employment is decreasing.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – This plan aims to increase the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Public Sector to 3.7%. Current representation in Public Sector employment is at 2.7% and has been at this level for some time.
• Culturally and linguistically diverse people – This plan aims to increase the representation of culturally and linguistically diverse people employed in the Public Sector to 15.5%. This target has been set using existing methodology. However, this plan includes an action for the Public Sector Commission to work with stakeholders to contemporise the definition. Representation of culturally and linguistically diverse people has been increasing slowly in recent years. In 2020, it was at 13.9%. Focussed effort is needed to accelerate this trend.
• People with disability – This plan aims to increase the representation of people with disability employed in the Public Sector to 5%. In 2020, the representation of people with a disability across the sector was 1.5%, where it has remained for some years. Focused effort is needed to turn this around.
• People of diverse sexualities and genders – This plan aims to support inclusive work environments for people of diverse sexualities and genders in the WA Public Sector. People of diverse sexualities and genders make up around 11% of the Australian community. While the sector currently does not measure representation of this group, it recognises the need to ensure all workplaces are inclusive.

State of the WA Government Sector Workforce 2020–21 reports that in support of the above Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people action plan, the Western Australian Public Service Commission issued Commissioner's Instruction 29, mandating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural awareness training for all Public Sector staff engaged for a continuous period of three or more months. The Commission also developed a training resource for the sector which is endorsed by the Aboriginal Advisory Council of Western Australia.

Chinese-Australians in the Australian Public Service states that Chinese-Australian communities are invaluable sources of China-related expertise, yet their people are underrepresented in the country's public service roles. Possible reasons include limited recruitment efforts, problems with gaining security clearances, failure to match existing skills with public service roles, and preconceptions based on perceived security risks. The dearth of China capability means the public service is not drawing on an important source of talent, skills, and advice to develop Australia's policies on China. The public service needs to recruit more Chinese-Australians in policy roles. Other key findings include:

• Almost every governmental policy decision made today has a China angle, and building understanding of China has become more pressing for Australian policymaking than ever.
• Despite the urgent demand within the APS for China expertise and language skills, the existing skills of many Chinese-Australians are being overlooked. Australia has a significant, diverse, and growing population of Chinese-Australians, but they are underrepresented and underutilised in the public service.

A better harnessing of the skills and knowledge of this community – including via improved recruitment processes, better use of data, skills-matching, and reviewing and clarifying security clearance processes and requirements – would have substantial benefits for Australian policymaking in one of its most important bilateral relationships.

For specific analysis of issues affecting Local Government, see Local Government.

Below is a list of industry-relevant research, organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.

IRC and Skills Forecasts

Public Sector IRC

• Public Sector IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast
• IRC membership
• SkillsIQ – Skills Service Organisation

Local Government IRC

• Local Government IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast
• IRC membership
• SkillsIQ – Skills Service Organisation

Relevant research

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Awareness Training – Western Australian Public Sector Commission

Aboriginal Employment and Career Development Strategy 2021–25 – Northern Territory Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment

APS Learning Board – Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)

Australian Public Service Employee Census 2019 – Australian Public Service Commission (ASPC)

Chinese-Australians in the Australian Public Service – Lowy Institute

Commissioner's Instruction 29 – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Awareness – Western Australian Public Sector Commission

COVID-19 Infection Control Training – Australian Government Department of Health

Delivering for Tomorrow: APS Workforce Strategy 2025 – Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)

Digital Economy Strategy 2030 – Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Government Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak – Australian Government Department of Health

Highly Capable, Future-Ready: APS Learning and Development Action Plan – Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)

Highly Capable, Future-Ready: APS Learning and Development Strategy – Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)

ICT, Cyber Security and Digital Government Strategy: ICT and Digital Government's Plan for 2020 to 2025 – South Australian Department of the Premier and Cabinet

Leadership Capabilities – Secretaries Talent Council (STC)

Management of the Australian Public Service's Workforce Response to COVID-19 – Australian National Audit Office (ANAO)

Our Public Service, Our Future: Independent Review of the Australian Public Service – Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

State of the Service Report 2019–20 – Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)

State of the WA Government Sector Workforce 2020–21 – Government of Western Australia. Public Sector Commission

Workforce Diversification and Inclusion Strategy for WA Public Sector Employment 2020–2025 – Government of Western Australia. Public Sector Commission

Industry associations and advisory bodies

Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate

Australian Capital Territory Government

Australian Government Department of Defence

Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT)

Australian Local Government Association (ALGA)

Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory

Environmental Health Australia (EHA)

Government of South Australia

Government of South Australia Department of the Premier and Cabinet

Government of South Australia Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment (OCPSE)

Government of Western Australia

Government of Western Australia Department of the Premier and Cabinet

Government of Western Australia Public Sector Commission

Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA)

Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ)

Local Government Association of South Australia

Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT)

Local Government Association Tasmania (LGAT)

Local Government New South Wales (LGNSW)

Local Government Professionals Australia

Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV)

National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI)

New South Wales Government

New South Wales Government Department of Premier and Cabinet

New South Wales Government Public Service Commission

Northern Territory Government

Northern Territory Government Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment (OCPE)

Planning Institute of Australia (PIA)

Queensland Government

Queensland Government Department of the Premier and Cabinet

Queensland Government Public Service Commission

Tasmanian Government

Tasmanian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPAC)

Tasmanian Office of the State Service Commissioner

Victorian Government

Victorian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC)

Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA)

Victorian Public Sector Commission (VPSC)

Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA)

Government bodies

Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

Government of South Australia Office of Local Government

Government of Western Australia Department of Communities

Government of Western Australia Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries

Local Government Victoria

New South Wales Government Office of Local Government

Northern Territory Government Department of the Chief Minister and Cabinet (formerly Department of Local Government, Housing and Community Development)

Queensland Government Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs

Employee associations

Australian Services Union (ASU)

Australian Workers’ Union (AWU)

Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU)

Professionals Australia Local Government Engineers’ Association (LGEA)

United Services Union (USU)

Regulatory bodies

Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA)

Department of Employment 2021, Industry Employment Projections viewed 1 August 2021, Labour Market Information Portal

• by ANZSIC 2 digit Public Administration Industry and Public Order, Safety and Regulatory Industry, employment projections to May 2025.

National Skills Commission 2022, Occupation Employment Projections viewed 10 August 2022, https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/topics/employment-projections

• by ANZSCO, selected occupations, employment projections to May 2026
  • Contract, Program and Project Administrators
  • General Clerks
  • Information Officer (formerly Inquiry Clerks)
  • Inspectors and Regulatory Officers
  • Intelligence and Policy Analysts
  • Other Specialist Managers
  • Policy and Planning Managers
  • Welfare Support Workers.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2022, 6291.0.55.001 - EQ06 - Employed persons by Industry group of main job (ANZSIC), Sex, State and Territory, November 1984 onwards, viewed 1 August 2022. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/may-2022

• Employed total by ANZSIC 2 digit Public Administration Industry and Public Order, Safety and Regulatory Industry, 2002 to 2022, May quarter.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017, 2016 Census – employment, income and unpaid work, TableBuilder. Findings based on use of ABS TableBuilder data.

• Employment level by 2 digit Public Administration Industry and Public Order, Safety and Regulatory Industry, and 4 digit level occupations to identify the relevant VET-related occupations in the industry as a proportion of the total workforce.

Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Students and Courses from the following training packages:

• PSP Public Sector Training Package
• LGA Local Government Training Package.

This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.

Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:

• 2017 to 2021 program enrolments
• 2017 to 2021 subject enrolments
• 2017 to 2021 program completions.

Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill-sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Location data uses student residence. Subject enrolment is registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions, please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.

Low counts (less than 5) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.

Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. This can lead to situations where the total sum of proportions in a chart may not add up to exactly 100%.

Job vacancy data have been extracted from Lightcast 2022, Labor Insight Real-time Labor Market Information Tool, Boston, viewed August 2022, https://lightcast.io/apac.

Data shown represent most requested generic skills, occupations and employers according to internet job postings in Australia between July 2019 and June 2022 filtered by ANZSIC and ANZSCO classification levels listed below.

• Generic skills/Occupations
  
  • 75 Public Administration
  • ANZSCO major groups excluding Professionals.
• Employers
  
  • 5111 Contract, Program and Project Administrators
  • 5311 General Clerks
  • 1399 Other Specialist Managers
  • 5212 Secretaries
  • 5412 Information Officers
  • 75 Public Administration.