The mandarins of tomorrow are among a workforce of 285 graduates to commence in the NSW public service as part of an 18-month training program.
The 2023 cohort is the largest group of newly minted public servants the state has ever taken on.
This year, clerk grade 3/4 graduate roles have been offered to recent university graduates from all disciplines in a primary stream, as well as vocation-specific disciplines in social work, law, engineering and digital.
NSW public service commissioner Kathrina Lo said 53% of the new graduates were women and 32% were from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background. Another 9% of the new starters have a disability, while 1% identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (this was a lower number of First Nations representation compared to previous years).
“They are an incredibly talented and diverse group and I can’t wait to see where their careers take them,” Lo said.
“We were very excited to introduce a new specialist engineering stream into our grad program this year.”
Primary-stream graduates get to nominate functional areas of interest to learn about and will work in a range of areas, from analytics or human resources to policy and projects. As part of the structured program, the new starters are eligible for roles across the greater Sydney metropolitan, Central West, Hunter, North Coast, South Coast, South East and South West regions.
“In the primary stream, you’ll study a Diploma of Government, which will help to ease your transition from university to work life and provide foundational government knowledge,” the NSW government said of the approximately 199 available places for this stream.
The NSW public sector graduate stream for law offers trainees the opportunity to earn their Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP), which entitles them to apply for qualification as a practising solicitor. This is a more competitive stream, with approximately 15 vacancies in the greater Sydney metropolitan region each year.
The social work stream places about 10 graduates in the Department of Communities and Justice who have a degree in social work, psychology or social science. The program gives participants a pathway to becoming a NSW caseworker.
“In the social work stream, you will learn about how child protection works across systems, policies and practice,” the government said.
“You will also complete tailored case worker development training and attend workshops with your cohort so that you have a foundational knowledge of government and how government works.”
This select group has the privilege of helping people facing various challenging circumstances and social disadvantages. Graduates undertake group supervision to ensure they learn how to make the “best possible” decisions about vulnerable families and children.
The job description for a graduate role tells candidates the key challenge they will face during their placement is learning the ropes of the “institutional frameworks and conventions” of the public sector. This includes legislative and budgetary processes.
Would-be grads should also demonstrate they can learn and adapt quickly to different working environments, managers and assignments, in addition to an ability to build and maintain relationships with stakeholders.
The newly minted public servants will also be expected to adhere to the NSW public sector capability framework, which groups 16 capabilities into the categories of personal attributes, relationships, results, and business enablers. The latter calls on the new graduates to have a foundational understanding of public sector financial processes, technology, procurement and contract management, and project management.
From February, the state’s 2023 graduates will work across departments in three rotations. Once they complete the program, they return to a ‘home agency’ for an ongoing permanent role.
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