Welcome to the Public Calling Bulletin

Indigenous Career Trek update

This financial year has seen the roll out of the sixth Indigenous Career Trek program – Career   Management. This program focuses on managing your own career and work to achieve your personal and professional goals.

Unfortunately, in certain locations some programs have had to be cancelled due to participant numbers being too low.

The next stop for Career Trek facilitator and APS Indigenous Liaison Officer, Rhonda Woodward is Perth, closely followed by Adelaide, Canberra and finishing up in Sydney.

Perth and Adelaide participant numbers are also looking quite low, if registrations don’t increase over the coming weeks we will have to look at cancelling further sessions.

Registration

By fax: Simply fax a completed registration form to 02 6276 7155.
Registration form.docx
Flyer and registration form.pdf

The Career Management course is a free two day course that is fully catered and open to all Indigenous APS employees.

*Please note that places are limited, to avoid disappointment early registration is recommended. Whilst every effort will be made to run the programs as scheduled, if participant numbers are low, programs may be cancelled.

Dates and locations for Career Management 2012

Month	Days	Location	APS level
May 2012	14 – 15 May	Perth	APS 1 – 4
	16 – 17 May	Perth	APS 5 – EL
	28 – 29 May	Adelaide	All levels
June 2012	4 – 5 Jun	Canberra	APS 1 – 4
	6 – 7 Jun	Canberra	APS 5 – EL
	18 – 19 Jun	Sydney	APS 1 – 4
	20 – 21 Jun	Sydney	APS 5 – EL

For more information on Career Trek please call 1300 656 009 or go to: www.apsc.gov.au/indigenous/careertrek.htm

Indigenous Pathways 2011 Graduation wrap up

Seventy-five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees throughout the Australian Public Service (APS) were recognised for successfully completing their respective APS Indigenous Graduate, Cadetship and Traineeship Programs in 2011, at a graduation ceremony held in Canberra on 8 December 2011.

This is the largest group to graduate through the Pathways program, bringing the total number recruited under the program since its inception to over 700 Indigenous graduates, cadets and trainees.

The Hon. Gary Gray AO MP, Minister for Public Service and Integrity, re-affirmed the Government’s commitment to increasing representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the APS. He stated that:

Harnessing this group through a strong focus on education, training, and school to work transitions, will ensure that the growing number of young working-age Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will be a prized and valuable resource in the future.

Other guests at the event included senior public servants and representatives from across a large range of APS agencies, as well as family members and friends of those being recognised for their achievements.
The Australian Public Service Commissioner, Mr Stephen Sedgwick, highlighted the value of working in the APS in his address to the Indigenous Pathways Program graduates stating:

We (the APS) sell ourselves in the recruitment market as ‘One APS career—thousands of opportunities’. I believe that is a promise we can deliver on. If you put yourself out there, talk to your managers about your career aspirations, access training and development activities that support your goals, you will find that you can access a wide range of employment opportunities.

Indigenous Pathways 2012 overview/highlights

The 2012 APS Indigenous Pathways participants have all officially commenced their placements, with over 150 Indigenous Graduates, Cadets and Trainees across the country having started their public service journey.

In order to welcome this year’s intake, an Indigenous Pathways Alumni Welcome Event was held at the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Centre, where they were able to meet some of our past Pathways participants, as well as participate in an art workshop facilitated by University of Canberra Assistant Professor Tjanara Goreng Goreng. Over 70 people were in attendance for a BBQ and helped create several artworks which illustrated their personal journey from their hometowns and their hopes for their year ahead.

Cadet to Graduate Transition - APSC Graduate Ellyse Paton

Progressing from an Indigenous Cadetship Program to an Indigenous Graduate Program is now becoming commonplace amongst Pathways participants. Many of this year’s graduates have chosen to make this transition including the Australian Public Service Commission’s graduate, Ellyse Paton.

Ellyse, who owes her twin sister for informing her of the opportunities available within the APS, felt comfortable in making the move from Perth to Canberra for the graduate opportunity.

‘Living in Canberra is great, I’ve settled in very well. It may have been a bit easier for me as I lived here before, but from what I’ve heard from other graduates is, that they have settled in well too. Ask me this question in winter though and the answer may be a little bit different!’

While completing her cadetship with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Ellyse chose to apply for the APS Indigenous Graduate Program because ‘participating in a graduate program offered a smooth transition into the full-time workforce, while being able to partake in extensive training and development opportunities that are not often provided in the private sector’.

Ellyse was originally drawn to work in the APS due to the ‘development and training opportunities, the flexible study and work balance, and the exposure to the public service’. ‘The sheer variety of work available, the people, and the commitment of the APS to Indigenous employees and culture,’ are some of the positive aspects that Ellyse sees as being a public servant.

Ellyse says that biggest difference from being a cadet and being a graduate is the level of work that can be provided. ‘As a cadet your time in the office is limited, but as a graduate I have the opportunity to work on long-term projects and projects on a larger scale’. Her advice to all current APS Cadets looking to move into a graduate program is ‘research the different APS agencies graduate programs and find one that fits your career goals and interests.’

When asked about the future, Ellyse isn’t too sure how she’d like her APS career to progress just yet, ‘The career possibilities in the APS are endless, so I’m excited to see where my career takes me. But in the next five years I hope to see myself still in the APS and have gathered broad and extensive experience’.

Great APS Graduate Debate-Q and A with DFAT Graduate Ricky Macourt

One of this year’s successful entrants in The Great APS Graduate Debate is Ricky Macourt, an Indigenous graduate at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who undertook a three stage audition process competing against graduates APS wide.

The Great APS Graduate Debate is a lively and informative event, bringing together two teams of five highly talented APS graduates to debate a topical and current APS issue. Agencies can select up to four graduates to compete in the audition process with the top ten then selected to represent the 2012 APS graduates on stage.

The APSC Indigenous Pathways team wish Ricky the best of luck for The Great APS Graduate Debate to be held on Tuesday 29 May 2012 with Adam Spencer returning once again as MC.

Ricky is a Gumbaingirr man, hailing from the North East Coast of NSW, in-between Nambucca Heads and Bowraville. Ricky spent the first few years his life in this area and then went to boarding school at St. Joseph's College in Hunters Hill Sydney. Ricky has certainly packed a lot of life experience in – he is an accomplished author, recipient of an ACT Indigenous High Achiever Award from the 2012 ACT & Region Indigenous Expo and has some major career aspirations.

Eversince he was young, Ricky had an interest in law and politics which grew after a group of Indigenous lawyers spoke to the Indigenous boys at his school. They inspired Ricky to not just seek out a career in these fields, but to aim for the top, be a real mentor, and why not even aim for Prime Minister.

Ever since that day it has been his goal and ambition. ‘Whilst I am very young, my passion for politics has not changed and I believe that working in the APS and particularly DFAT will give me the experience to know how government works so that when I do go for the top job, I can't say I didn’t start from the very start and make my way up, earning every step.’

• What were you doing before you joined the APS?

I studied my undergraduate in Law at Bond University on the Gold Coast. Between studying and working for DFAT I did a brief stint in a local solicitors firm where I dealt with family law and probate. I also worked as a clerk at Allens Arthur Robinson in Brisbane and I am a writer and teachers aid by trade, with Jali Boy, my first novel, being published by Oxford University Press last March.

• What appealed to you about auditioning for the APS Great Debate? Have you had much experience in debating?

Anyone who knows me would attest to my insatiable need to chatter. I have done it since a kid. So why not turn it into something productive.  I debated in high school and was captain of my team so I figured ‘why not get back into it’. It’s a great experience as well, with our coaches and mentors being sourced from SES and EL staff from across the APS.

• Would you prefer to debate for the affirmative or the negative of a debate?

We haven't gotten a topic yet so I can't say which. I always loved being the affirmative and really presenting a strong case, but the advantage of the negative was that as first speaker, I could rip the opponent team's arguments to shreds (well at least try). To be honest I am just happy to be chosen.

• How do you see your career with the APS progressing? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

When I applied for DFAT someone had forgotten to mention what postings were, so when I was told I could be sent overseas I was in awe. I see myself hopefully being sent to somewhere where I can make a real difference. After that, the world is an oyster and my people are from the sea, so who knows! Depending on how confident I am with my experience, I plan on moving into the political sphere, but with how much I have been enjoying the APS who knows?

• Name one thing about yourself that you think people would be surprised to know?

I play rugby union and write poetry for a living. Go figure that irony!