Chapter 6: Learning and development

Abbreviations

A list of the abbreviations used in this report is available in the Glossary

Key chapter findings

In 2005–06, there was a strong focus on learning and development across the APS. The majority of APS employees considered that their agency places a high priority on learning and development, that their learning and development needs are documented, and that they are satisfied with their access to, and the effectiveness of, the learning and development they receive.

Nearly three-quarters of employees considered their manager ensures fair access to learning and development opportunities across their work group. However, there is still a minority of employees who do not receive significant amounts of formal learning and development, and comparisons with other jurisdictions indicate that there is some room for improvement.

The fact that most employees have reached formal agreements with their managers on learning and development and report that they have discussed learning and development during performance feedback are very positive results, and reflect a strong push across the APS for consideration of learning and development issues in performance management processes. Nevertheless, some agencies may need to look at increasing their focus on learning and development within the performance management process for the minority of employees who do not report these outcomes. A more systematic discussion of learning and development during performance feedback may help in ensuring that a greater priority is given to implementing learning and development plans, as well as a more strategic approach to developing plans that identify feasible and achievable learning and development opportunities.

Access to learning and development appears to be a particular issue for APS employees located outside the ACT, who report lower levels of access and effectiveness. With two-thirds of APS employees located outside the ACT, this is particularly important.

Greater attention should be given to identifying and delivering learning and development for employees exercising regulatory authority. These employees are the most dissatisfied group in relation to both access to learning and development and its effectiveness. The findings of the Comrie Report indicated how important the capability of this group of employees was for the operation of DIMIA. All agencies with employees involved in exercising regulatory authority can learn lessons from the DIMIA experience to ensure that the learning and development opportunities provided to this group target the technical aspects of the job and the employee’s understanding of the source of the authority, the scope of any discretion and how to exercise it appropriately. The Commission is developing new programmes in this area.

Another finding of some concern is that more than one-third of SES employees report that their learning and development needs have not been identified or agreed on with their manager. Given the strong reinforcement of the need for SES capability development in MAC’s One APS–One SES statement, this result is disappointing. It is important that agency leadership and the SES focus as much on the capability development of the senior leadership group as they do on that of other employees.

A strategic approach to learning and development is a crucial part of improving organisational capability and overall levels of employee engagement. An agency’s approach to learning and development can be an important component in positioning it as ‘an employer of choice’, allowing it to retain its skilled employees and to attract new employees. This is already necessary today with skills shortages apparent in some areas. It will be essential in the future, given the demographic challenges that are tightening the labour market and the signs that younger generations of public servants want agencies to invest more in them than was once the case. Agencies will need to focus increasingly both on overall approaches to learning and development that meet the needs of employees and targeted initiatives for groups where skills shortages are particularly severe, such as cadetships.

Overall, this year’s results show that learning and development is an area of strength for the APS. However, agencies need to keep a continuing focus on maintaining and improving their efforts.

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