Appendix 6ꟷAPS workforce planning
This appendix captures information which is relevant for Australian Public Service workforce planning.
Table A 41 presents the number and proportion of APS agencies that identified critical skills shortages in 2023 and 2024.
Table A 41: Number and proportion of agencies that identified critical skills shortages
| Has your agency identified any critical skills shortages? | 2023 | 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of agencies | % | Number of agencies | % | |
Yes |
87 |
88 |
83 |
88 |
No |
12 |
12 |
11 |
12 |
Source: 2023 and 2024 APS Agency Survey
Table A 42 presents the number and proportion of agencies that have identified specific critical skills shortages in 2023 and 2024.
Table A 42: Number and proportion of agencies with specific critical skills shortages
| Has your agency identified any critical skills shortages? | 2023 | 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of agencies | % | Number of agencies | % | |
| Digital and ICT | 66 | 76 | 67 | 81 |
| Data | 64 | 74 | 66 | 80 |
| Portfolio, program or project management | 38 | 44 | 32 | 39 |
| People management and leadership | 45 | 52 | 31 | 37 |
| Legal | 30 | 34 | 30 | 36 |
| Change management | 34 | 39 | 29 | 35 |
| Procurement and contracting | 32 | 37 | 29 | 35 |
| Policy or strategic policy | 33 | 38 | 23 | 28 |
| Regulatory | 19 | 22 | 20 | 24 |
| Accounting/finance | - | - | 19 | 23 |
| Risk management | 16 | 18 | 17 | 20 |
| Collaboration and stakeholder engagement | 21 | 24 | 15 | 18 |
| Cultural capability | - | - | 15 | 18 |
| Written or verbal communication | - | - | 14 | 17 |
| Science and/or engineering | 22 | 25 | 13 | 16 |
| Communicating with influence | 18 | 21 | 12 | 14 |
| Green capabilities (e.g. sustainability, capabilities for net zero, environmental policy and planning) | - | - | 12 | 14 |
| Information and knowledge management/records management | 13 | 15 | 12 | 14 |
| Economics, including behavioural economics | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 |
| Agile or agile working | 10 | 11 | 10 | 12 |
| Delivery and implementation | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
| Evaluation | - | - | 10 | 12 |
| Understanding the APS environment | 14 | 16 | 7 | 8 |
| Integrity | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Working with ministers and their offices | - | - | 4 | 5 |
| Other | - | - | 17 | 20 |
Source: 2023 and 2024 APS Agency Survey
Note: Percentages are based on agencies which had identified critical skills shortages (87 agencies in 2023; 83 agencies in 2024). As agencies could select more than one option, total percentages may exceed 100%. The following options were included in 2024, but not in 2023: accounting/finance, cultural capability, evaluation, green capabilities, working with ministers and their offices, written or verbal communication and other.
Table A 43 presents the number and proportion of agencies that have identified specific data skills as critical skills shortages in 2024.
Table A 43: Number and proportion of agencies with specific data critical skills shortages
| What specific data skills have been identified as critical skills shortages? | 2023 | 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of agencies | % | Number of agencies | % | |
| Data analysis | 51 | 80 | 48 | 73 |
| General data literacy - analyse, interpret and apply data outputs and products | 44 | 69 | 38 | 58 |
| Communication of data (e.g. visualisation, effective reporting) | - | - | 34 | 52 |
| Data governance | 35 | 55 | 34 | 52 |
| Data science | 30 | 47 | 30 | 45 |
| AI/machine learning design and validation | - | - | 28 | 42 |
| Data or information architect | 27 | 42 | 27 | 41 |
| Data modelling | - | - | 24 | 36 |
| Data engineering | 22 | 34 | 22 | 33 |
| Data or information officer | 16 | 25 | 10 | 15 |
| Data mining | 10 | 16 | 8 | 12 |
| Other | 13 | 20 | 9 | 14 |
Source: 2023 and 2024 APS Agency Survey
Note: Percentages are based on agencies which had identified data as a critical skills shortage (64 agencies in 2023; 66 agencies in 2024). As agencies could select more than one option, total percentages may exceed 100%. The following options were included in 2024, but not in 2023: communication of data, data modelling and AI/machine learning design and validation.
Table A 44 presents the number and proportion of agencies that have identified specific digital and ICT skills as critical skills shortages in 2024.
Table A 44: Number and proportion of agencies with specific digital and ICT critical skills shortages
| What specific digital and ICT skills have been identified as critical skills shortages? | 2023 | 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of agencies | % | Number of agencies | % | |
| Cyber security specialist | 53 | 80 | 49 | 73 |
| General digital literacy - use and apply correct technologies in day to day work | 29 | 53 | 33 | 49 |
| Enterprise/ Technology architect | 35 | 44 | 33 | 49 |
| ICT/Digital project management | - | - | 30 | 45 |
| IT systems architect | 33 | 50 | 28 | 42 |
| AI/Machine learning software | - | - | 25 | 37 |
| Automation/AI/RPA developer | 15 | 23 | 24 | 36 |
| IT project specialist | 26 | 39 | 24 | 36 |
| Data integration and migration specialist | 26 | 39 | 23 | 34 |
| Development and programming (design, creation, testing and documentation of new and amended software components) | - | - | 22 | 33 |
| Infrastructure engineer | 22 | 33 | 22 | 33 |
| Network engineer | 21 | 32 | 20 | 30 |
| DevOps engineer | 25 | 38 | 18 | 27 |
| Product or service manager | 12 | 18 | 18 | 27 |
| System analyst | - | - | 14 | 21 |
| Tester/test analyst/performance tester | - | - | 12 | 18 |
| Interaction Designer | 6 | 9 | 7 | 10 |
| SAP specialists | - | - | 6 | 9 |
| Robotic engineer | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| Digital channels/social media officer or specialist | 8 | 12 | 4 | 6 |
| RPA analyst | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| Other | 16 | 24 | 19 | 28 |
Source: 2023 and 2024 APS Agency Survey
Note: Percentages are based on agencies which had identified digital and ICT as a critical skills shortage (66 agencies in 2023; 67 agencies in 2024). As agencies could select more than one option, total percentages may exceed 100%. The following options were included in 2024, but not in 2023: ICT/digital project management, development and programming, system analyst, tester/test analyst/performance tester, AI/machine learning software and SAP specialists.
Table A 45 presents the number and proportion of agencies in 2024 that had designed or implemented specific initiatives to address identified critical skills shortages.
Table A 45: Number and proportion of agencies that had designed or implemented specific initiatives to address identified critical skills shortages
| Which initiatives has your agency designed or implemented to specifically address these shortages? | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of agencies | % | |
| Individual Flexibility Arrangements (IFA) | 66 | 80 |
| Capability uplift activities or programs (training, upskilling) | 64 | 77 |
| Targeted recruitment campaigns | 55 | 66 |
| Other capability uplift activities (conferences, professional membership) | 46 | 55 |
| Internal mobility programs (e.g. secondments, temporary transfer) | 44 | 53 |
| Graduate programs | 41 | 49 |
| Trainee/apprentice/cadet programs | 34 | 41 |
| Developing targeted employee value proposition | 31 | 37 |
| Succession planning | 31 | 37 |
| Rewards and recognition activities or programs | 28 | 34 |
| Talent management | 27 | 33 |
| Specific APS Job Family or other workforce segment workforce plans or strategies | 23 | 28 |
| Embedding the APS Professions within the agency | 21 | 25 |
| Targeted retention initiatives | 20 | 24 |
| Re-skilling activities or programs | 11 | 13 |
| Other | 17 | 20 |
Source: 2024 APS Agency Survey
Note: Percentages are based on agencies which had identified any critical skills shortages (83 agencies). As agencies could select more than one option, total percentages may exceed 100%.
Table A 46 presents the number and proportion of agencies in 2024 that had designed or implemented workforce plans or strategies for specific APS Job Families or other workforce segments to address identified critical skills shortages.
Table A 46: Number and proportion of agencies that had designed or implemented workforce plans or strategies for specific APS Job Families or other workforce segments to address identified critical skills shortages
| For which APS Job Families or other workforce segments has your agency designed or implemented a workforce plan or strategy to specifically address critical skills shortages? | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of agencies | % | |
| ICT and Digital Solution | 17 | 74 |
| Data and Research | 9 | 39 |
| Compliance and Regulation | 7 | 30 |
| Human Resources | 6 | 26 |
| Accounting and Finance | 5 | 22 |
| Intelligence | 5 | 22 |
| Legal and Parliamentary | 5 | 22 |
| Policy | 5 | 22 |
| Communication and Marketing | 4 | 17 |
| Information and Knowledge Management | 4 | 17 |
| Monitoring and Audit | 4 | 17 |
| Portfolio, Programs and Project Management | 3 | 13 |
| Administration | 2 | 9 |
| Service Delivery | 2 | 9 |
| Engineering and Technical | 1 | 4 |
| Science and Health | 1 | 4 |
| Trades and Labour | 1 | 4 |
| Other | 5 | 22 |
Source: 2024 APS Agency Survey
Note: Percentages are based on agencies which had designed or implemented specific APS Job Family or other workforce segment workforce plans or strategies to address identified critical skills shortages (23 agencies). As agencies could select more than one option, total percentages may exceed 100%.
Table A 47 presents the proportion of 2024 APS Employee Census respondents performing each type of work who identified data as a skill or capability missing from their immediate workgroup.
Table A 47: Proportion performing each type of work who identified data as a skill or capability missing from their immediate workgroup
| Type of work | % who selected data as a skill or capability missing from their immediate workgroup | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2024 | |
| APS Overall | 23 | 22 |
| Data and research | 50 | 49 |
| Monitoring and audit | 34 | 33 |
| Intelligence | 34 | 31 |
| Senior executive | 32 | 30 |
| Policy | 31 | 29 |
| Information and knowledge management | 28 | 29 |
| Portfolio, program and project management | 30 | 27 |
| Human resources | 29 | 26 |
| Compliance and regulation | 23 | 22 |
| Science and health | 19 | 22 |
| Communications and marketing | 18 | 20 |
| Accounting and finance | 22 | 19 |
| Administration | 15 | 16 |
| Engineering and technical | 15 | 14 |
| ICT and digital solutions | 14 | 14 |
| Legal and parliamentary | 15 | 13 |
| Service delivery | 14 | 13 |
| Trades and labour | 11 | 8 |
Source: 2024 APS Employee Census
Note: APS Overall refers to the proportion of all APS respondents. Proportions are based on the number of respondents who identified a skill or capability gap within their immediate workgroup.
Table A 48 presents the proportion of 2023 and 2024 APS Employee Census respondents performing each type of work who identified ICT or digital as a skill or capability missing from their immediate workgroup.
Table A 48: Proportion performing each type of work who identified ICT or digital as a skill or capability missing from their immediate workgroup
| Type of work | % who selected ICT or digital as a skill or capability missing from their immediate workgroup | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2024 | |
| APS Overall | 30 | 29 |
| ICT and digital solutions | 58 | 57 |
| Information and knowledge management | 42 | 42 |
| Intelligence | 42 | 38 |
| Data and research | 34 | 34 |
| Compliance and regulation | 28 | 31 |
| Communications and marketing | 29 | 30 |
| Engineering and technical | 31 | 29 |
| Monitoring and audit | 27 | 29 |
| Science and health | 35 | 29 |
| Service delivery | 27 | 28 |
| Accounting and finance | 26 | 27 |
| Administration | 26 | 26 |
| Human resources | 26 | 26 |
| Portfolio, program and project management | 28 | 26 |
| Legal and parliamentary | 23 | 26 |
| Senior executive | 25 | 24 |
| Trades and labour | 18 | 24 |
| Policy | 20 | 18 |
Source: 2024 APS Employee Census
Note: APS Overall refers to the proportion of all APS employees. Proportions are based on the number of respondents who identified a skill or capability gap within their immediate workgroup.