Ms Er Tian Sim

APS Graduate Development Program ‘Stewardship means reflecting upon the broader impacts of your work. It means being hopeful and striving towards making a positive impact.’

Joining the Australian Public Service

Why did you decide to join the APS?

In my third year of university, I wanted to gain some ‘real’ work experience. I joined Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) for a 6-month internship in the Skills Group Program and Reporting Office. The broad exposure from this experience sparked my curiosity in other opportunities and areas of work across the APS.

I started the APS Graduate Development Program at the APSC a few months after graduating with a Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Psychology from the Australian National University. While I thought about moving home to Perth, I wanted to explore what Canberra could offer me professionally.

Describe your current role as an APS graduate.

During my first 6-month rotation, I worked across the trust and transparency, and economic analysis teams in the People Insights branch. I was involved in a range of projects including engaging agencies on how to strengthen transparency, survey design and analysis, and evaluating strategies and programs.

I’m currently completing my second 6-month rotation with the Talent Management team. My role includes supporting the establishment of a Senior Executive Service (SES) Induction Program for newly promoted SES leaders. I’m also supporting the design, implementation and evaluation of the First Nations EL 2 (Bulabul) and SES (Yawarra) leadership development pilot programs.

Stewardship

What does stewardship mean to you, and why do you feel it’s important?

For me, stewardship boils down to being thoughtful and considerate.

It means reflecting on the broader impacts of your work, such as what is happening across the system and what will this look like in future. It means being hopeful about progress and striving to make a positive impact, whether this is uplifting others or leaving things in a better state than when you found them.

I think stewardship may not appear as ‘big’ or ‘visible’ as leadership. It’s often not one big action, but a series of smaller things that happen quietly in the background.

Was there a defining moment or person who influenced your thinking on this?

My understanding of stewardship shifts every time it comes up in conversation or is spoken about at an event. However, one moment provided me with clarity on what stewardship looks like in practice.

In a meeting with my colleagues, they discussed how stewardship is inherent in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. It has been much easier for me to consider ‘stewardship’ alongside ‘custodianship’, and how Indigenous Australians have been looking after the land and passing down their stories for thousands of years.

Describe how you ‘act as a steward’ in your current role.

Given the length of my graduate rotations, I’m particularly cognisant of the temporal aspect of stewardship – how to preserve what is good, while thinking about how to make it better.

For example, in trust and transparency, my whole team constantly considered the questions we asked in the Survey of Trust in Australian public services. We grappled deeply with how certain words might be interpreted and whether the questions asked what we wanted them to ask. We debated any changes we wanted to make, as it would break trend data and render past data incomparable.

In the area of talent management, the pilot programs I’m supporting complement the SES100 initiative. Together, they strengthen the representation of First Nations leaders in the APS. Our work contributes to building a pipeline to ensure that First Nations leaders are involved in decision-making and that decision-making at the high level incorporates diverse perspectives.

What professional experiences or achievements are you most proud of?

As part of the Australian National Internships Program, I conducted a literature review for ACT Health in 2022 on universal meal programs and their effects on socioeconomic disparities in nutritional intake, as well as student wellbeing and academic outcomes.

I produced a 4,000-word report to support project planning and presented my key insights to a dozen representatives across ACT Health and the ACT Education Directorate.

Recently, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the ACT Government has rolled out a Meals in Schools pilot program across 5 schools.

What is a legacy you hope to leave in your current role at the APSC?

The core focus of the APSC is the people who work in the public service. I think working here has emphasised the importance of placing people at the centre of what I do.

When I complete the APS Graduate Development Program, I hope I will have made a positive impact within the branches where I completed my rotations. I hope I’ve been able to support my team members, exchange knowledge and insights, and foster an environment that people are happy to work in.

 What professional advice would you give your younger self?

Two pieces of advice that have been given to me resonate:

1. Do not discount yourself because of your inexperience or your age. Your contributions are equally valuable.
2. Build upon your skills, not only through professional experiences, but by embodying confidence and owning it.

APS Academy program participation

Which program have you participated in, and why did you apply?

After my internship at DEWR, I wanted to develop a deeper and broader understanding of how the public service operates at the federal government level. I applied for the APS Graduate Development Program through the generalist stream and was lucky enough to be placed in my first preference, APSC.

Describe your program experience.

I’ve enjoyed completing the online learning modules component of the APS Academy Graduate Development Program. Some modules, like effective writing and using data, have been directly relevant to my day-to-day work and have provided helpful tips and tricks. Other modules have helped me learn more about the other kinds of work within the APS, such as administrative decision-making and organisational change management.

I’ve also liked attending the workshops, as listening to the experiences of the guest speakers contextualised different concepts and provided a practical lens to my learning.

How has this experience contributed to your professional or learning development?

As a Graduate, I’ve been provided with an incredible amount of support. Everyone has been very generous with their time and knowledge.

I was also able to secure an opportunity to shadow my Deputy Commissioner for a day. It was incredible to get a glimpse into the strategic thinking and collaboration at that level, and how it links to and builds upon what we do at a branch level.