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Public sector traineeship program
A guide for agencies
Enquiries:
Traineeship Coordinator, Public Sector CommissionTelephone: (08) 6552 8792 Fax: (08) 6552 8710Website: www.gettingajob.dpc.wa.gov.auEmail: [email protected]
© State of Western Australia 2014There is no objection to this publication being copied in whole or part, provided there is due acknowledgement of any material quoted or reproduced from the publication. Published by the Public Sector Commission (Western Australia), December 2014. Copies of this publication are available on the Public Sector Commission website at www.publicsector.wa.gov.au
DisclaimerThe Western Australian Government is committed to quality service to its customers and makes every attempt to ensure accuracy, currency and reliability of the data contained in these documents. However, changes in circumstances after time of publication may impact the quality of this information. Confirmation of the information may be sought from originating bodies or departments providing the information.
AccessibilityCopies of this document are available in alternative formats upon request.
Contents
About the ‘Public sector traineeship program’....................................................................5
Benefits.............................................................................................................................. 5
Trainee learning outcomes................................................................................................. 6
Creating a public sector trainee request............................................................................6
Viewing candidate resumes.............................................................................................10
Agency selection.............................................................................................................. 10
Updating RAMS............................................................................................................... 10
Appointment policies and procedures..............................................................................11
Wages.............................................................................................................................. 12
Contact an Australian apprenticeships centre..................................................................12
Engaging a registered training organisation.....................................................................13
Cost and incentives.......................................................................................................... 13
Getting started.................................................................................................................. 14
Traineeship completion.................................................................................................... 15
Checklist........................................................................................................................... 16
Definitions........................................................................................................................ 17
Public sector traineeship program Contents 4
About the ‘Public sector traineeship program’The ‘Public sector traineeship program’ is a youth employment initiative of the public sector. The program provides people 25 years of age or under with an opportunity to complete a traineeship within a public sector agency while attaining a nationally recognised qualification (Certificate II, III or IV in Government). It is a sector wide initiative based in regional and metropolitan areas and is the perfect way for young people to begin building a career in the public sector.
Public sector trainees are employed in administrative roles for 12 months full-time or 18 months part-time. Trainees earn a training wage, which starts from $287.90 to $655.90 per week. Regional trainees can also receive a district allowance between $23.75 and $246.61 on top of their wage.
BenefitsThe program helps your agency by:
increasing youth employment, which supports the public sector’s commitment to increasing youth representation in the public sector
building the sector’s skill base as young people will be qualified in public administration
providing a young person with an opportunity to gain a nationally recognised qualification
achieving greater diversity by being able to request candidates with disability or who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
accessing an affordable workforce development solution.
The Public Sector Commission (Commission) sources candidates and maintains a database of interested applicants.
When a traineeship opportunity is available at your agency, your human resources officer, on your behalf, can submit a request for a trainee through the Recruitment Advertising Management Systems (RAMS). The Commission refers candidates to you, so you can contact candidates directly to arrange interviews and begin the merit selection process.
Sourcing candidates from the program benefits your agency by:
providing instant access to a diverse range of candidates
reducing recruitment costs as there is no need to advertise
shortening the recruitment process as you will receive at least five candidate resumes within 24 hours of submitting a request
allowing you to just focus on selection, rather than having to source candidates as well
reducing administration workloads as trainees learn skills on-the-job.
Public sector traineeship program A guide for agencies 5
Trainee learning outcomesCompleting a public sector traineeship prepares young people for a career in the public sector and helps develop their administration skills.
Upon completion, trainees will be able to:
address agency and stakeholder needs
comply with legislation
contribute to team activities
contribute to workplace safety
organise workplace information
understand the concepts of ethical and accountable decision making
use a range of workplace communication strategies
use and access resources and financial systems
work effectively and efficiently within a public sector agency
work effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
Creating a public sector trainee request Public sector agencies may submit a request for a public sector trainee at any time of the year. To complete a request, your agency’s human resources officer will need to have access to RAMS.
To request a trainee, submit a new entry level program request via RAMS and complete the following:
1. Log in to RAMS
You can log in to RAMS via https://admin-INSERT CLIENT ID HERE-wagov.bigredsky.com/ Enter your username and password
2. Select your menu option as: Vacancies—New Request
3. Complete the request form
Note: Ensure that you select ‘trainee request’ under vacancy category/vacancy type.
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The steps below will help you to complete each section of the request form. Please note that red fields are compulsory.
Agency: select your agency’s name
Division: enter the division
Position no: enter the position number
Job title: enter ‘public sector trainee’
Owner: select owner (this will be your details)
Vacancy type: select ‘trainee request’
Term: enter ‘12’ or ‘18 months’
ANZSCO code: enter 5311
Award: select the relevant award
Request form screen shot one
The fields under the tracking section are not compulsory. However, if you would like to monitor the time to fill the vacancy, you may complete them.
Vacancy status: select ‘stored’
Contact person: enter the name of the contact person
Agency file no.: enter the file number
Request raised: enter the date
Request received: enter the date
Redeployment exemption: select ‘trainee’
Remember to select ‘trainee’ as the redeployment exemption. If it is not selected, the vacancy will be redirected to redeployment.
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Request form screen shot two
Classification: enter ‘trainee’
Location: enter your agency’s street address and suburb
Selection criteria: include the skills and qualities your agency is looking for in a trainee
Comments: enter any other comments you would like the Traineeship Coordinator to consider when identifying suitable candidates to refer. For example, rotation plans, hours of work and if you would like Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates or candidates with disability.
Request form screen shot three
Public sector traineeship program A guide for agencies 8
Request form screen shot four
Level: select trainee
Salary range: select ‘$14 000 to $32 000’
Work type: select fixed-term – full-time (or part-time)
Occupation: select apprenticeship/traineeship/graduate
Region: select your region
Skills: select ‘administrative clerical’
Request form screen shot five
Once all the fields have been completed on the new request, click on the ‘store’ button.
If you have multiple trainee requests, you can copy a vacancy and create multiple entries. To do this, go into the vacancy you want to copy and click on the ‘copy’ button at the bottom of the page.
If you are based in regional WA, it is essential that you specify the region and the population centre where the trainee will be located. This will ensure that only available candidates who are located in that population centre will be referred.
Public sector traineeship program A guide for agencies 9
Viewing candidate resumesOnce a trainee request is submitted via RAMS, the Traineeship Coordinator will refer five candidates to your agency for consideration. Resumes will be attached to the trainee request on RAMS. If you request candidates with disability, a recruitment profile form will also be attached to the request.
Your agency will receive an email to advise that the referral process has been finalised and the short-listing process can commence.
To view the candidates referred to the trainee request:
select menu option: ‘my vacancies’
locate the vacancy and click on the position title
click on the referrals link and a list of referred candidates will be displayed
click in a candidate’s name to view their personal and contact details
click on the attachments menu options to view a candidate’s resume.
Agency selection Candidates may be referred to more than one agency. Therefore, the selection of candidates is on a first-in, first-served basis. It is essential that once the referral process is finalised, your agency:
schedules interviews as soon as possible
finalises the selection process quickly and notifies all referred candidates (successful and unsuccessful) as soon as possible
advises the Commission, via RAMS, of the selection outcome.
Updating RAMS Once you have notified all referred candidates of the selection outcome, you need to update RAMS.
If a successful candidate has been identified and all other candidates are unsuccessful, complete the following:
change successful candidate status to ‘referral accepted - temporary’
change unsuccessful candidate status to ‘referral unsuccessful’
click on save.
If all candidates have been deemed unsuccessful, complete the following:
change unsuccessful candidate status to ‘referral unsuccessful’
click on save
click on ‘menu option’ and then details
Public sector traineeship program A guide for agencies 10
change ‘vacancy status’ to ‘recruitment suspended’
click on save.
If a decision has been made to withdraw the request, complete the following:
click on ‘menu option’ and then ‘details’
change vacancy status to ‘recruitment suspended’
click on save.
It is the agency’s responsibility to notify all referred candidates of the selection outcome in a timely manner.
Appointment policies and proceduresThe selection and appointment of candidates from the program, as with all public sector appointments, must comply with the minimum standards of merit, equity and probity established by the Commissioner under:
Commissioner’s Instruction No.1 – Employment Standard
Commissioner’s Instruction No.2 – Filling a public sector vacancy .
This requirement is in addition to compliance with the Public Sector Management Act 1994, Commissioner’s Instruction No. 7 – Code of Ethics and other relevant legislation such as the Public Sector Management (Breaches of Public Sector Standards) Regulations 2005.
The majority of trainees recruited from the program will be covered by the Public Service Award 1992 or by the Government Officers Salaries Allowances Conditions Award 1989 and will be appointed to a fixed-term contract for the duration of the traineeship.
If your agency’s trainee is covered by either of the above awards, they will be appointed as follows:
Section 17 of the Public Service Award, s64(1)(b) of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 and under the terms and conditions of the Public Service and Government Officers General Agreement 2014 (PSGOGA)
Section 17 and 8 of the Government Officers’ Salaries Allowances Conditions Award 1989 and under the terms and conditions of the Public Service and Government Officers General Agreement.
If the trainee is not covered by either of the above awards, they will be appointed according to the terms and conditions of employment in the award, act or agreement applicable to your agency.
Public sector traineeship program A guide for agencies 11
WagesThe salary applicable to trainees covered by either the Public Service Award 1992 or the Government Officers Salaries Allowances Conditions Award 1989 is prescribed in the Department of Commerce’s Circular to Departments and Authorities No. 5 of 2014.
Trainee wages range from $287.90 to $655.90 per week, depending on:
age
highest year of schooling completed
number of years out of school.
Trainees under 21 years of age have a common anniversary date of 1 January each year at which they receive an increase to the wage level.
District allowance ratesPublic sector trainees based in the regional areas may be eligible to receive district allowances under the District Allowance (Government Officers) General Agreement 2010 and District Allowance (Government Wages Employees) General Agreement 2010.
The district allowance rates applicable to trainees are identified in the Department of Commerce’s Circular to Departments and Authorities No. 9 of 2014.
District allowance rates vary from $23.75 to $246.61 depending on regional locations and exclusion zones.
For more information on trainee wage rates, please refer to the Department of Commerce’s website.
Contact an Australian apprenticeships centreYour agency must contact an Australian apprenticeships centre to register your trainee.
On behalf of your agency, the centre will:
complete the training contract (a legally binding agreement between your agency and
the trainee)
lodge the training contract with the Apprenticentre
notify you of incentive claims that your agency may be eligible for.
To obtain a list of Australian apprenticeships centres in your area, call the Department of Training and Workforce Development’s ApprentiCentre on 13 19 54, or visit www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au
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Engaging a registered training organisationYour agency must also contact a registered training organisation (RTO) which will deliver the nationally-recognised qualification, either a Certificate II, III or IV in Government to the trainee.
On behalf of your agency, the RTO will:
help decide which qualification is suitable for your trainee
complete a training plan outline to specify competencies your trainee will complete during the traineeship
offer advice and support to your agency and the trainee
monitor your trainee’s progress in the workplace
assess competencies in the workplace and issue the Certificate in Government.
To access RTOs that currently deliver Government qualifications in both metropolitan and regional locations, visit the Commission’s website or Training WA at www.training.gov.au
Cost and incentivesMost agencies choose to pay the costs associated with engaging a RTO to deliver the qualification to the trainee. As an estimate, this will amount to approximately $800. If the trainee has a current health care card they are entitled to 50 per cent off the cost of this fee.
Trainee wages, and other employee entitlements such as annual leave, superannuation, and worker’s compensation are also costs to factor into your trainee budget.
The following table outlines a cost comparison between trainees and level 1 employees.
Trainee Level 1 employee
Wage$14 164 to $32 640 p.a.
pro rata PSGOGA
$21 210 to $50 983 p.a.
pro rata PSGOGA
Agencies should also budget for standard employee on costs including utilities, accommodation and communications. On costs can range from 10 to 20 per cent of the salary.
Public sector traineeship program A guide for agencies 13
Getting startedTo select a supervisor for your trainee, choose someone who:
can provides training to the trainee
organises meaningful tasks
the trainee can report to on a daily basis.
On the job training is the most important aspect of the traineeship. Training can take the form of:
explaining what the task is, why it needs to be completed and how it fits in with the
other tasks that are being completed in your agency
demonstrating the steps to complete the task, getting the trainee to write each step down for future reference
practicing with the trainee the steps demonstrated to complete the task correctly under supervision
completing the task required unsupervised once the trainee feels comfortable they can complete the task on their own
providing positive feedback and suggestions for improvement.
Meaningful tasks should be provided to ensure they are aligned with the competencies.
Below is a list of example competencies and tasks that align to that competency:
PSPGOV206B Handle workplace information entering data
filing and records management
processing mail
PSPGOV312A Use workplace communication strategies supporting administration
producing correspondence, including memorandums, letters and emails
PSPGOV402B Deliver and monitor service to clients assisting in setting up and preparing for events
serving customers
responding to queries
The Commission offers a trainee various off-the-job training days including telephone techniques and public sector job application and interview skills, for all public sector trainees.
Public sector traineeship program A guide for agencies 14
Your agency can also arrange additional off-the-job training for your trainee (optional). Some examples are:
customer service course
first aid course
internal induction sessions
occupational health and safety course
information technology training (ie. Microsoft Word and Excel)
other internal training sessions provided by your agency.
Traineeship completionEnsure the trainee is aware of employment options available to them before they finish their traineeship. The agency, together with the trainee, may consider a range of options including:
completing a higher level traineeship to gain a higher qualification, such as a
Certificate III or IV in Government
appointment to a vacant level 1 public sector position (fixed-term of permanent)
applying for jobs as advertised on the WA Government jobs board at www.jobs.wa.gov.au
If your agency is not in a position to offer employment directly after the trainee has completed their traineeship, the Commission invites you to register to candidate to the ‘Traineeship transition to employment program’ (TTEP). The candidate will also need to register to the TTEP. If successful, they will be placed in the TTEP pool for 12 months. Agencies can request candidates from the TTEP pool by putting new request for a TTEP candidate via RAMS. Please refer to the TTEP section on the Commission’s website for more information.
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Checklist Create a traineeship request
o Submit the traineeship request via RAMS
o Receive referrals and arrange interviews
o Download candidate resumes
o Arrange interviews with candidate
o Employment standards apply
Notify candidates and the Traineeship Coordinator of selection outcome
o Contact the successful candidate
o Notify the Commission’s Traineeship Coordinator of the selection outcome via email
o The Traineeship Coordinator will update RAMS and confirm candidate placement
o Contact unsuccessful candidates
Appoint the trainee
o Offer your trainee a fixed-term contract of service in accordance with relevant legislation and agreements
Establish the traineeship
o Contact an Australian Apprenticeship Centre
o Contact a RTO
Trainee commencement
o Identify a suitable supervisor
o Organise a work plan and identify appropriate tasks for the trainee
o Allow time to complete qualification competencies
Traineeship completion
o Discuss available ongoing employment options with your trainee
Public sector traineeship program A guide for agencies 16
DefinitionsApprentiCentre
The ApprentiCentre provides support to employers, apprentices and trainees. Support services include advice on the rights and obligations of apprentices and trainees, available training options and general administration.
Australian Apprenticeships Centre (AAC)
AACs are contracted by the Commonwealth Government to provide information, administration services and support to employers, apprentices and trainees. AACs assist with the signing of training contracts and assess, approve and process the payment of Commonwealth Government incentives to eligible employers, apprentices and trainees.
Candidate
A person who has applied for the public sector traineeship program and has been referred to an agency which has requested traineeship referrals.
Certificate II, III or IV in Government
Nationally recognised qualification a trainee completes during their public sector traineeship.
Competencies
Competences are the units of work which need to be completed, assessed and recognised in order to achieve the qualification (for example, Certificate II, III or IV in Government).
District allowance
A weekly monetary allowance applicable to trainees working in specific regional locations. The district allowance is paid in addition to trainee wages.
Full-time trainee
A trainee completing 37.5 hours of work per week.
Highest year of schooling
The highest year of schooling the trainee has completed (i.e. Year 10, 11 or 12). A trainee who has left school before completing Year 10 will be deemed to have completed Year 10.
Merit selection process
Public sector trainee appointments must comply with relevant legislation and the minimum standards of merit, equity and probity.
Part-time trainee
A trainee completing less than 37.5 hours of work per week.
Public sector traineeship program A guide for agencies 17
Recruitment Advertising Management System (RAMS)
RAMS is the web based recruitment system for all public sector agencies to manage their requirements around recruitment including public sector traineeship program requests.
Referral process
The process of providing a candidate’s resume to a public sector agency which has requested candidates from the public sector traineeship program.
Registered training organisation (RTO)
RTOs are responsible for delivering the traineeship qualifications and competencies (for example, Certificate II, III or IV in Government).
Trainee
A successful candidate who has been appointed to a fixed-term traineeship contract.
Traineeship
Employment based training where trainees are employed on a fixed-term contract for 12 months full-time or 18 month part-time to complete a government qualification and are paid a trainee wage.
Traineeship Coordinator
The person who is responsible for coordinating the ‘Public sector traineeship program’ and who refers candidates to public sector agencies.
Traineeship request
A new request, submitted via RAMS, requesting candidate referrals from the ‘Public sector traineeship program’.
Training contract
A legally binding agreement between the agency and the trainee. It outlines the agency’s obligation to employ and train the trainee, provide the relevant wages and conditions and ensure that the trainee receives adequate facilities and supervision necessary to complete the training.
Years out of school
The number of years a trainee has been out of school.
For more informationwww.publicsector.wa.gov.au/workforce/employment/traineeship-programs
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