The new APS Academy recognises that there is no finish line to building capability and that it requires a deep commitment to ongoing development.
The Academy was established to drive a learning model that promotes continuous learning and has been charged with ensuring the Australian community and government are served by a highly capable and future-ready APS workforce.
The Academy operates under five key principles and uses a one-APS approach to learning and development, with a focus on leadership, integrity and core APS Craft capabilities unique to the APS. These crafts allow the Academy to equip the workforce with skills, tools and knowledge to deliver excellent outcomes for Government and the Australian community. The APS Academy Faculty has been established to guide, influence and contribute to the design and delivery of initiatives to build those APS Craft capabilities.
Grant Lovelock, Head of the APS Academy said APS Craft is a way of thinking about the essential skills that each APS employee needs to build over their career.
‘Our Faculty are key to making the Academy’s activities directly relevant to the work we do as public servants and to drive continuous improvement of those learning experiences. ’In July this year the APS Academy released the APS Learning and Development (L&D) Strategy and Action Plan to deepen the capabilities and expertise of the APS. In an environment where change is constant and learning is key for success, the strategy fosters a culture of continuous learning and builds the skills and knowledge needed by the APS workforce to keep pace with the speed of change. The action plan, to be overseen by the Learning Board, operates across four pillars of action: capability, technology, governance, and, importantly, culture. The plan aims to enable APS L&D leaders, practitioners, and partners to take the practical steps to implement the Strategy over a five-year period.
‘The L&D Strategy and Action Plan provides a plan for how we focus on building capability in those areas as one APS,’ Mr Lovelock said.
Through the Academy people can access a collection of APS Craft ‘toolkits’, providing access to a range of learning, from self-serve resources through to courses and events. Additionally, the Academy also offers a variety of different programs and scholarships (for example, the APS Graduate development, Jawun APS Secondment and more) and connections to programs being developed by the Heads of APS Professions.
To learn more about what the Academy has to offer, visit the APS Academy.