The strategic outcome of this work is an inclusive, high-performing and engaged workforce.
A workforce that:
- is capable and flexible
- is inclusive and diverse
- is digitally enabled and customer focused
- embodies public sector values.
Promoting inclusive and healthy workplaces
In partnership with the Aboriginal community, we delivered all Barring Djinang initiatives in virtual format. Participation increased to 44 in the 2020 internship program and 26 in the leadership program, up from 34 and 19 last year. Fifty people participated in regional networks.
More than 100 people have participated in the career development program since it started in 2017. We commenced the pilot phase of Building Aboriginal Cultural Capability in the Workplace. Five public sector agencies participated.
Access to career development, networking and peer support contributes to a more rewarding career experience for Aboriginal employees, improving attraction and retention. Our work supports Aboriginal self-determination in Victoria, developing Aboriginal leadership capabilities across the public, Aboriginal community and Traditional Owner sectors.
Under Getting to work, the Victorian public sector disability employment action plan 2018-25, we developed a pilot whole of government mentoring program and graduate mentoring program for participants in the Victorian Government graduate program Disability pathway. We hosted more than 500 attendees at 3 online events to celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
During COVID-19, we provided support for employees with disability and neurodiverse employees working remotely. We also published tips for Managers who were supporting employees with disability to work remotely, and transition back to the workplace.
We engaged the Melbourne Disability Institute, University of Melbourne, to investigate evidence-based approaches to improve the collection of disability related information in a workplace setting. The project showed that data collection methods and organisational culture influence whether and when job seekers and current employees share disability information. We will use these findings to strengthen the quality of disability information we collect.
We continued to convene the quarterly Deputy Secretary disability champion round table, developing a whole of government disability awareness e-learn.
We also published guidance on the use of special measures to address equality in recruitment and support recruitment from diverse backgrounds including people with disability and Aboriginal Victorians.
Supporting employment and career pathways
The Commission recruited 79 graduates across 6 professional streams in the 2021 Victorian Government graduate program. The newest stream is Law, aligned to broader workforce demands. Overall, 19% of graduates were employed via the disability pathway and 9% via the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pathway.
We also supported recruitment of early career professionals to a 12-month graduate program at the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions and to a summer internship at the Department of Education and Training.
CareersVic attracts almost 40,000 job seekers every week and supports them to find job opportunities across the Victorian public sector. We manage ongoing delivery of CareersVic and Join a Public Board, the board recruitment service for the Victorian Government.
We re-developed Join a Public Board during 2020-21. Redevelopment goals were to improve capability and diversity outcomes in board recruitment. We interviewed more than 30 candidates, stakeholders and recruiters as part of a user-centred design process.
We are starting to connect employees from public sector entities to the Jobs and Skills Exchange, in line with the next phase of the roll-out. We also scoped a digital upgrade to the platform to better serve our members.
Developing leading practice to support whole of government people initiatives
In partnership with the Jobs and Skills Exchange, we established a centralised mobility team to help departments fill surge roles during COVID-19. We used LiveHire to enable this, managing requests in line with the Jobs and Skills Exchange recruitment policy and the industrial relations framework.
We set up an administrative pool to fill short term needs across agencies, relying less on labour hire. This pilot will conclude in December 2021.
We developed a professional/technical taxonomy comprised of 18 professions. It provides structure to professional streams and networks across the public service.
The taxonomy facilitates workforce development and mobility across departments by focusing on shared skills and capabilities. It identifies affiliated professions and pathways between, empowering employees to steer their own career.
We published a wellbeing toolkit for managers. It contains 12 modules of tips, tools and activities that aim to alleviate stress experienced by teams who are working remotely, coping with the general concern of a pandemic and collaborating within a dispersed workforce to maintain service delivery.