Chapter 2: Statistical snapshot
Conclusions
There has been strong growth in the APS in recent years and this trend continued in 2002–03. This growth reflects government priorities in such areas as security and border protection, but also increased workloads in agencies such as the ATO and Centrelink.
Over the last year there has also been a general consolidation of trends towards an older and more skilled workforce. This is shown, for example, in the
- continuing falls in recruitment at the APS 1 and 2 levels
- a focus on the APS 3–4 levels as the principal levels for recruitment
- a doubling in the number of graduate trainees recruited after a fall in the previous year
- the high proportion of all recruits who had tertiary qualifications
- an increased number of engagements at more senior levels.
The ‘typical’ new starter in the APS is now a 31 year old who is at the APS 4 level and more likely to be a woman than a man.
The older APS workforce is consistent with the general ageing of the Australian workforce. However, the APS faces specific challenges, notably the passing through of the large cohort recruited in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the incentive for early retirement from its superannuation schemes.
The representation of women in the APS continues to grow, including through slow but sustained growth in the proportion of women employed at more senior levels. The number of women at these levels is set to increase further, given the high proportion of engagements of women, their increasing representation in feeder groups to senior levels, and the impending ‘changing of the guard’ over the next five years or so, with those senior people leaving being predominantly men.
The trends in representation of other diversity groups highlight some concerns which are discussed in more detail in Chapter 8. In particular, the downward trend in the employment of people with a disability and employees from non-English speaking backgrounds is now firmly in place, and previous growth in the employment of Indigenous employees has clearly stalled and is now falling as a proportion of the APS. A key factor in these trends has been the fall in recruitment at the APS 1–2 levels. Apart from its impact on diversity, a continued decline in engagements of APS 1–2s might be cutting off an alternative source of potentially high performing APS employees in the future context of stronger market competition for talent.