Workforce profile

Classification structures

Table 2.1 compares ongoing employee numbers by classification, at June 1993, 2006 and 2007. In the past year, numbers rose at all classifications except for trainees and APS 3s. Although numbers increased at the APS 1 level, this is likely to be largely the result of improved data quality from Medicare Australia this year.⁹ Excluding Medicare Australia, which has the largest number of APS 1 employees in the APS (647 at June 2007), the number of APS 1s fell by 3.6% during 2006–07. For other classifications, the largest proportional growth this year was in the Graduate APS level (up by 16.8%), and among APS 2s (12.7%) and the SES (11.2%). Trainee numbers fell by 15.4%. Employment in trainee classifications has been extremely volatile over time—varying from a high of 773 in 1996 to a low of 163 in 1999. Some agencies now engage trainees at the APS 1–2 levels rather than in the actual trainee classification, so variations over time in the number of employees at this level may not necessarily reflect agencies’ use of trainees more broadly.

This year, for the first time, the number of ongoing employees at the APS 6 level is greater than the number of APS 4s, reflecting the significantly more complex work done in the APS today.

The past 15 years have seen a sharp decline in the proportion of employees at the APS 1–2 levels (down 25.0 percentage points) and increases at the APS 5–6 (up 8.2 percentage points) and EL classifications (up 9.6 percentage points). As a proportion of all ongoing employees, the SES has risen from 1.3% at June 1993 to 1.7% at June 2007. This trend towards a higher classification profile reflects the changing nature of APS employment, with the outsourcing of a number of low skill functions, and a more skilled workforce undertaking increasingly more complex and difficult roles.

Table 2.1: Ongoing employees by classification, 1993, 2006 and 2007
Classification	1993		2006		2007		% change 2006 to 2007	% change 1993 to 2007
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	% change 2006 to 2007	% change 1993 to 2007
APS 1	24110	16.9	1065	0.8	1587	1.1	49.0	-93.4
APS 2	18714	13.1	4939	3.7	5567	3.9	12.7	-70.3
APS 3	23180	16.2	21807	16.2	21585	15.0	-1.0	-6.9
APS 4	16185	11.3	26675	19.8	28322	19.7	6.2	75.0
APS 5	16925	11.8	18800	13.9	19756	13.8	5.1	16.7
APS 6	19463	13.6	26734	19.8	28554	19.9	6.8	46.7
EL 1	12351	8.6	20503	15.2	22436	15.6	9.4	81.7
EL 2	7832	5.5	10528	7.8	11612	8.1	10.3	48.3
SES	1880	1.3	2257	1.7	2509	1.7	11.2	33.5
Trainee	365	0.3	461	0.3	390	0.3	-15.4	6.8
Graduate APS	796	0.6	1033	0.8	1207	0.8	16.8	51.6
Total	142891	100.0	134802	100.0	143525	100.0	6.5	0.4
Source: APSED

Women by classification

Women’s representation continued to increase this year, especially at the higher classification levels. Women outnumber men at all classifications up to and including APS 6. If the current trend continues, women will also outnumber men at the EL 1 classification within the next three years. Figure 2.7 shows the proportion of men and women at selected classifications at June 2007.

Figure 2.7 Ongoing employees by classification and sex, June 2007

Figure 2.7 shows ongoing employees by classification and sex, at June 2007. Women outnumber men at all APS level classifications with their representation falling at higher levels.

Source: APSED

Despite the increased feminisation of the APS, women are still under-represented at higher classifications. However, as shown in Figure 2.8, there have been significant gains for women over time, particularly at the EL and SES classifications. In this graph, each number is weighted using the total number of ongoing employees at June 1993 as a base.¹⁰ The growth in the number of women at the EL and SES classifications has substantially outstripped their growth in representation in other classifications. Women’s representation at the APS 1–2 levels has declined substantially, but so has the number of APS 1–2 employees generally.

At June 2007, women comprised 36.1% of the SES (an increase from 34.9% in 2006), and 43.5% of EL employees (up from 42.3% in 2006). There was a particularly substantial increase in the proportion of women at the SES Band 2 level (up from 28.0% in 2006 to 32.5% in 2007).

Figure 2.8: Change in the number of women at selected classifications, weighted and indexed, 1993 to 2007

Figure 2.8 shows change in representation of women at APS 1–2, APS 3–4, APS 5–6, EL and SES classifications from 1993 to 2007. Representation has risen at all levels above APS 1–2, with strongest growth at EL and SES classifications.

Source: APSED

Figure 2.9 shows that women’s representation among promotions to EL and SES classifications was higher than their representation at these levels. This trend, which has been evident for some years, suggests that women’s representation at higher classifications will continue to increase. This was the first year for some time in which the engagement rate for women was lower than their overall representation at the EL classifications and the SES. The number of promotions at these classifications is more than twice the number of engagements, so the effect of women’s higher promotion rate on the overall representation rate for women in the longer-term has more impact than a small decline in engagement rates this year.

Figure 2.9: Ongoing employees—engagement and promotion rates for women, 2006–07

Figure 2.9 shows engagement and promotion rates for women in APS, EL and SES classification groups during 2006–07, and compares them with women’s overall representation in these classification groups.

Source: APSED

The trend to greater representation for women in the EL classifications and the SES is reinforced by looking at their representation in different age groups. Table 2.2 shows that women’s representation in both the EL classification groups and the SES is higher for younger age groups. In particular, women make up more than half of ELs aged under 40.

Table 2.2: Ongoing employees—representation of women by age group in EL classifications and the SES, June 2007
	Under 40	40–44	45–49	50 & over
EL	53.1	46.2	40.2	32.8
SES	43.6	42.8	38.6	30.0
Source: APSED

The large agencies with the highest representation of women at higher classifications are DEST (60.2% of SES are women, 58.1% of ELs are women), Health (55.9% and 62.1%), DEWR (53.7% and 50.3%), ASIC (51.6% and 45.9%) and FaCSIA (50.5% and 63.7%). The large agencies with the lowest representation of women at higher classifications are Defence (22.6% of SES are women, 23.9% of ELs are women), BoM (23.1% and 15.2%), DOTARS (23.3% and 34.3%), DAFF (24.1% and 39.6%) and DVA (25.0% and 41.6%).

9 Data provided by Medicare Australia for June 2006 had many employees in an APS 1–3 broadband, and these employees were reported as APS 3. Subsequently, Medicare Australia has provided actual levels for their employees, many of whom are at the APS 1 level. Therefore, the APS 1 numbers for 2006 are understated.

10 Weighting eliminates the effects that the change in the overall size of the APS has on representation. The index is given a value of 100 at June 1993, and rises and falls proportionally with the particular group’s change in the weighted number over time.