The APS Academy Campuses will be expanded to regions and will offer around 300 flexible data and digital training and entry-level employment opportunities over the three years for those wanting to skill up in data and digital roles in the APS in Darwin, Newcastle, Launceston and Townsville.

This would include paid apprenticeships, cadetships and internships, with graduate placements expected to follow in 2024.

From early 2023, APS Academy Campuses will be co-located at the University of Newcastle, with campuses at Charles Darwin University in Darwin and James Cook University in Townsville opening mid-2023.

Also, the APS Academy Campus will open at the University of Tasmania in Launceston in 2024.

The campuses will also include opportunities for students to undertake vocational education and training (VET) or tertiary study while working as APS employees.

The APS Academy, which is a networked hub of learning and development excellence for the APS, was established in July 2021 as a division of the Australian Public Service Commission, with a mission to foster an APS-wide culture of learning that builds core public sector capabilities.

Minister for the Public Service, Senator Katy Gallagher, said this was a part of the Government’s plan to address the national skills shortage of highly skilled workers in the data and digital space.

“Like the private sector, the APS is struggling to find enough people with the technical skills to fill roles in the data and digital space, but this Academy program is the latest positive step in the right direction to deal with this issue and to ultimately keep those workers in the APS,” she said.

Gallagher stressed that while people were willing to have careers in the APS, many of them at the same time did not want to leave their local communities where they lived.

“That’s why we have decided to make these training opportunities available in some of our larger regional towns and cities. This will attract aspiring public servants who will get the right skills to have the best chance at jobs in the APS while continuing to contribute to the places that they call home,” Gallagher added.

Some of the potential data and digital careers in the APS include data analysts and scientists, cyber security analysts, user researchers, software engineers, web developers, programmers and system designers.