graduate development program faqs · the graduate development program will begin in february 2020....

Graduate Development

Program

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Graduate Development Program


2

Contents

Life as an Infrastructure Graduate 3

Our Recruitment Process 4

Assessment Centres 6

Calculating your GPA or WAM 7

Indigenous Affirmative Measures 9

RecruitAbility 11

Contact Us 13



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Life as an Infrastructure Graduate

Where will I be working?

All of our Graduate positions are in Canberra, with our National office in the

heart of the CBD, just meters away from the Canberra Shopping Centre, and

all the best restaurants and bars in Canberra!

If successful, when am I able to commence?

The Graduate Development Program will begin in February 2020. There may

be opportunities available to commence from November 2019, completing a

placement through our University Vacation Employment Program.

If you are successful in gaining a position on our Graduate Development

Program, the Graduate Management team will contact you to discuss these

opportunities.

What type of work will I be doing at Infrastructure?

Our Graduates typically undertake a combination of five types of work

during their Graduate year:

• Research, analysis and advice,

• Policy development and advice

• Program and project management

• Regulation, and

• Corporate and enabling services

What will my career progression look like?

You will commence as an APS Level 3, progress to an APS Level 4 after

successfully completing your first two rotations and upon successful

completion of the Program, advance to an APS Level 5. That’s a jump from

$59,000 to $74,500 within the year!



4

Our Recruitment Process

When do applications open / close?

Applications for the 2020 Graduate Development Program open on Monday

11 March 2019 and close at 11:59pm (AEST) Sunday 5 May 2019. No late

applications will be accepted.

What areas of study do we accept?

We look for Graduates from any and all academic disciplines.

What are the eligibility requirements to apply for the program?

To be eligible for our Program, you must:

• Be an Australian citizen

• Have completed a minimum of a three year undergraduate degree by

January 2020

• Have completed your degree within the last 5 years

• Have achieved a minimum of a credit average

• Be able to obtain and maintain a baseline security clearance

• Be prepared to relocate to Canberra.

When will I know if I’ve been successful in progressing to the next step?

We aim to notify candidates who are progressing to the next step

throughout each stage of assessment. Candidates who are successful in

progressing to Assessment Centres should be notified by June 2019.

What are the requirements for the academic transcript?

You will need to provide a copy of your academic transcript as part of your

application. This will need to have the Universities logo on it, your full name,

the name of your degree and the subjects and marks you’ve completed so

far. We understand that those of you who are still completing their degrees

will not have an official transcript at the time of application. You will be

requested to provide the official transcript at a later date should you be

successful.

Please note: if you have completed your degree overseas, we will require

verification of recognition of this degree within Australia.

This will be required at the Assessment Centre, should you be invited to this

stage.



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When will offers be made?

The department intends to make first round offers by August 2019.

Will I be notified if I am unsuccessful?

Candidates who are unsuccessful in making it through to assessment centres will be notified as soon as the shortlisting process has been complete. Candidates who are unsuccessful at Assessment Centre stage will be notified at the conclusion of the assessment process.

All requests for feedback will be responded to when the assessment process

has concluded.

Can I request feedback?

You can request feedback by emailing [email protected].

Requests will be responded to at the conclusion of the assessment process.

mailto:[email protected]



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Assessment CentresWhen are Assessment Centres?

The department aims to hold Assessment Centres in the first week of July

2019. Candidates who are successful in progressing to this stage will be

invited to participate in the Assessment Centre in either a morning session

commencing at 9:00am, or the afternoon session commencing at 1:30pm.

Where will the Assessment Centre be held?

Our Assessment Centres will be held in our recruitment partner, Hays

Recruitment’s custom facilities in Melbourne, VIC. The department will

fund travel and accommodation to Assessment Centres for all successful

interstate candidates.

What is the structure of the Assessment Centre?

The Assessment Centre will consist of:

• A written activity,

• A group activity, and

• An interview

Who will provide me with support during this stage of assessment?

Throughout the Assessment Centre you will be supported by:

• The activity facilitators

• The Graduate recruitment team, and

• Staff from our Graduate alumni

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates will also be supported by an

appointed Liaison Officer within the Graduate recruitment team, who is part

of the department’s Indigenous Staff Network.



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Am I eligible for extra support?

If you are living with disability and opt into our RecruitAbility scheme, you

are eligible to request reasonable adjustments before the Assessment

Centre to ensure you are able perform our assessments on an equal

platform.

Reasonable adjustments we can provide include, but are not limited to:

• Extra reading time

• Extra equipment

• Alternative assessment methods

For more information about RecruitAbility, please see page 8 of this

document, alternatively, please contact our friendly team at Hays.

Phone: 02 6112 7620

Email: [email protected]




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Calculating your GPA or WAMWhat subjects need to be included in calculating my Grade Point Average (GPA) or my Weighted Average Mark (WAM)?

On page 1 of the GPA “How to” sheet there is a table that indicates the

grade point for each mark. You do not need to include any subjects which

you are currently undertaking or will undertake. For subjects where you have

withdrawn you only need to include them if you have received an academic

penalty for the subject, which means the score will be zero.

If I have more than one degree do I use my marks from all subjects to calculate my GPA or just my current degree?

If you have more than one degree i.e. an undergraduate and postgraduate

degree, you will need to use all of your marks from all of your subjects to

calculate your GPA not just your current area of study. However, if your

undergraduate degree was completed more than 5 years ago, you do not

need to include the marks in your GPA calculations.

How do I calculate my GPA and WAM?

Please refer to the “How to” sheets that are available through the hyperlink

in the help icon next to each question on the online Application Form for

details on how to calculate your GPA and WAM.

I only have a 4 point GPA can I use this to answer the question?

The application question refers to a 7 point GPA, if you have a 4 point you

will need to use the “How to” sheet in order to convert your 4 point GPA

into a 7.

My University does not give me raw marks (only grades, i.e. credit, distinction) so I cannot work out my WAM. What should I do?

If your university does not give you raw marks, you can calculate and

provide your GPA. As WAM is a mandatory field, you will need to put a zero

in the WAM field. The assessors are aware that if a student has entered a

GPA and a zero for their WAM that their University does not issue raw marks

for subjects.



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Indigenous Affirmative Measures

What is Indigenous Affirmative Measures?

Affirmative Measures is a legislative initiative to identify particular job

opportunities as open only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

applicants. Affirmative Measures is a strategy to increase the representation

of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Public

Service and to address inequitable employment outcomes experienced by

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

You can find more information about Indigenous Affirmative Measures at the

Australian Public Service Commission website.

Am I eligible to apply under Indigenous Affirmative Measures?

To be eligible to apply under Affirmative Measures, applicants must identify

as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person and meet the minimum

eligibility requirements for the Program. Applicants applying through the

Indigenous Affirmative Measures stream will be required to provide evidence

of their heritage.

Is there any difference in assessment for the Graduate Development Program and the Indigenous Affirmative Measures Stream?

The assessment process will be exactly the same for both streams and

applicants will be assessed using the same assessment criteria. However,

Indigenous Affirmative Measures applicants will only be assessed against

other Indigenous Affirmative Measures applicants.

https://www.apsc.gov.au/indigenous-employmentaffirmative-measure-and-identified-positions



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What am I required to provide as confirmation of my heritage?

If you apply through the Indigenous Affirmative Measures Stream you are

required to confirm your heritage.

To confirm your Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander heritage or both, you must:

• be of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent

• identify as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

• be accepted as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person in

your community.

Heritage can be confirmed with a letter from an Indigenous organisation,

land council or statutory declaration.

For more information about confirming your heritage, please contact our

People Strategy and Planning team.

Phone: (02) 6274 7485





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RecruitAbility

What is RecruitAbility?

RecruitAbility is a scheme under the As One: Australian Public Service

Disability Employment Strategy 2016–2019, which was established in 2015

and aims to attract applicants with disability by removing some of the

barriers in recruitment and employment processes across the Australian

Public Service.

The scheme provides an opportunity for applicants with disability to

progress to the next stage in the selection process if they are assessed

as meeting the minimum requirements of the job. It is available across all

APS levels, including Senior Executive levels.

Disability in this instance refers to any “current limitation, restriction or

impairment, which has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months and

restricts everyday activities.”

How do I opt into the RecruitAbility scheme?

In the online application form, you will be asked to indicate if you wish to opt

into the RecruitAbility scheme. Opting into the scheme is not mandatory,

but will enable you to progress to the next stage of assessment, provided

you meet the minimum requirements for the role. To participate in the

scheme, you must identify as a person with disability in addition to selecting

yes in the ‘opt in’ box. Simply declaring that you have a disability will not

automatically include you in the scheme.

You are not required to share details of your disability with us. It is helpful if

you let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments for us to support

you throughout the recruitment process, an explanation of reasonable

adjustment is provided below.

Entrusted parties such as the selection panel or the Talent Acquisition Team

may be made aware that you have opted into the scheme for the purposes

of support and reasonable adjustments.

https://www.apsc.gov.au/recruitability-scheme-guide-applicants

https://www.apsc.gov.au/aps-disability-employment-strategy-2016-19

https://www.apsc.gov.au/aps-disability-employment-strategy-2016-19



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Reasonable Adjustments

Reasonable adjustments can be made throughout the recruitment process

and subsequent employment and are designed to eliminate barriers so that

a person with disability can have equal opportunity in employment, perform

the requirements of the job, and participate in organisational life on an equal

basis.

Reasonable adjustments can be to ensure access, provide extra equipment

or alternative methods of assessment. Reasonable adjustments do not

include changing the inherent requirements of the job or creation of an

entirely new job.

RecruitAbility is about self-disclosure; you do not need to provide evidence

of your disability to opt into the scheme, but you are making a declaration to

the Australian Public Service that you meet the definition.



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Contact UsIf you still have questions that were unanswered on our website and this

FAQs document, please do not hesitate to contact our friendly team at Hays.

Phone: 02 6112 7620


Website: www.infrastructure.gov.au/graduate

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DoIRDCGradProgram


http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/graduate

http://www.facebook.com/DoIRDCGradProgram

graduate development program faqs · the graduate development program will begin in february 2020....

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