A Culture of Learning

Building and supporting a learning culture to develop
the breadth and depth of capabilities needed
for now, and in the future. Developing high performing,
professional and ethical leaders and managers.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) Senior Executive Service (SES) Leadership Development Program

Commencing in July 2019, 29 SES officers from across 10 agencies formed the third cohort to complete the SES Leadership Development Program.

The Program is the keystone program for developing SES in the TSS. It provides participants with a range of themes that seek to build on the strategic and analytical capacity of public sector leaders and managers. Sessions include topics on strategy, leadership, complex problem analysis and decision making, behavioural insights, and methods of collaboration and co-production.

Since it commenced in 2017, total participation in the Program has been 96 senior leaders across the TSS. Following three consecutive years of delivery, the Program is not being delivered in 2020 to allow for an Impact Evaluation to be undertaken to inform future programs.

State Service Strategic Management Program (S3MP)

In August 2019, 11 TSS employees joined participants from Tasmania Police to commence the fourth cohort to complete the S3MP. The S3MP is a joint program delivered by SSMO and Tasmania Police in partnership with the University of Tasmania (UTAS), with participants who successfully complete the S3MP being awarded a Professional Honours (Public Sector Leadership and Management).

During 2019-20, 19 Senior Executive Service officers were assigned to other
offices as part of intra, or inter-agency mobility arrangements.

MANAGER DEVELOPMENT

Manager Essentials Program

The Manager Essentials Program¹⁸ is a contemporary program that develops the fundamental and essential capabilities of current TSS managers (or equivalent roles). The Program uses a blend of active learning modules and learning guides including self-directed Getting Started Guides, Participant Workbooks and an On-the-job Guide that contains further activities to apply learnings back in the workplace. The Program is bookended by an Emotional Intelligence diagnostic.

In May 2019, as part of SSMO’s response to COVID-19, the delivery of the Program and its learning materials were transitioned from face-to-face delivery to a live, online learning program.

The 2019-20 period saw an additional five Manager Essentials Programs scheduled across the State. Seventy-seven managers completed the Program in the 2019-20 reporting period, bringing to 227 the total number of managers to have completed the Program since it was launched in 2017.

Manager Essentials Program Toolkit

In October 2019, a Manager Essentials Program Toolkit was developed and launched by the CEO of TasTAFE. This resource provides participants with a simple resource that can easily sit on their desk and reminds them of the models and constructs that resonated with participants throughout the program.

Public Sector Management Program (PSMP)

The PSMP is aimed at mid-level and emerging managers in Local, State and Commonwealth Government sectors across Australia, with content delivered through intensive workshops and self-directed learning.

In March 2020, nine State Service employees were awarded a Graduate Certificate in Business (Public Sector Management) from the Queensland University of Technology when they completed the 15-month Program.

GRADUATE DEVELOPMENT

In total, 21 Graduates from across the TSS are participating in the 2020 TasGraD program¹⁹. This development program offers a range of modules, targeted at building key skills and competencies for working in the State Service, both now and into the future.

One workshop was delivered in a face-to-face environment at the start of 2020, prior to the program being modified to an online delivery mode to accommodate the impacts of COVID-19. The modified program is continuing to be delivered for the 2020 cohort.

Since commencing in 2017, a total of 120 Graduates
have participated in the TasGraD Program.

TASMANIAN TRAINING CONSORTIUM (TTC) ACTIVITIES

Now in its 25th year of operating, the TTC continues to offer courses that are well regarded and deliver valuable skills and knowledge on the inner workings of the Tasmanian public sector.

In 2019-20, the TTC delivered 75 Calendar courses across the state to a total of 1,154 participants. A number of new courses were offered including:

• Diploma of Fraud Control;
• Resilience and stress management;
• Interview skills and strategy;
• Authentic leadership with Dr Dana Born (Harvard Kennedy School);
• Meeting DoJo; and
• Change management essentials for projects.

The delivery of face-to-face courses was significantly impacted by COVID-19, and resulted in a temporary closure of the TTC Calendar from April to June 2020. In this period, the majority of TTC staff were re-deployed within DPAC, providing them with the opportunity to learn new skills and broaden their experience of working in DPAC.

During the closure, some Calendar courses were transitioned to online delivery, which included self-paced online and live online delivery options. The introduction of online courses resulted in an additional
64 registrations.

As public health restrictions have progressively eased, the TTC is set to re-open from 1 July 2020.

Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) – Tasmanian division

TTC continues to provide secretariat and event management services to support IPAA in the delivery of the IPAA Public Service Excellence Awards, and a calendar of events aimed at developing the skills and knowledge of TSS and public sector employees.  In 2019-20, TTC supported the delivery of three IPAA events in Tasmania.

2019 HR FORUM

In November 2019, 45 human resources professionals from across State and Local Government attended the second annual HR Forum.

The full day event provided an opportunity to hear about the future multi-generational workforce and what it means for the public sector, as well learn more about the rise of artificial intelligence in recruitment. Masterclass sessions were also offered in design thinking, building a high-performing organisation, and future-proofing workplace learning.

In 2019-20, the TSS supported eight employees to develop their skills and knowledge through
secondments to UTAS,  Government House, unions, and the Australian National Curriculum Authority.  
Twenty arrangements also brought  new skills into the TSS from UTAS,
other State Governments and Government Business Enterprises, as well as the private sector.

^{18. http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/ssmo/learning_and_development/leadership}

^{19. This includes Graduates appointed from the TasGraD pool, and Graduates appointed by agencies through other recruitment processes.}