The Public Sector Commission has announced its Youth Action Plan saying a future-fit Public Service “can’t be achieved without the fresh, innovative and diverse perspectives that young people bring”.
The plan sets out the Commission’s commitment to working with Agencies in the public sector to improve youth employment outcomes.
The move is part of the Workforce Diversification and Inclusion Strategy for WA Public Sector Employment 2020-2025.
The Commission said the twin goals of the strategy were to increase the representation of people from different backgrounds at all levels in the sector, and to ensure all staff experience a sense of belonging and inclusion in the work environment.
“Like this action plan that focuses on youth, there are also plans for women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culturally and linguistically diverse people, people with disability and people of diverse sexualities and genders,” the Commission said.
It said the Youth Action Plan aimed to increase the representation of youth in the public sector to 5.8 per cent and support inclusive work environments.
“Representation of youth in public sector employment has been declining over time.
“The most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated resident population data shows that 18.8 per cent of working age people in Western Australia are between 15 and 24 years old,” it said.
“The target has been set so the representation of youth in public sector employment matches the representation of youth in the WA working age population who are not studying.”
It said a concerted effort was needed to stop the current decline of youth employment in the sector and then increase it.
Piper Sweet (pictured), a participant in the Commission’s school-based traineeship program, is currently working in the Department of Justice.
Ms Sweet is finishing Year 12, has completed a Certificate II in Government (Public Administration) in the program, and will graduate from the traineeship in December.
She has also been selected as a finalist in the WA School-based Apprentice of the Year 2020 category at the WA Training Awards.
“It feels fantastic to be selected as a finalist for these awards. It shows me just how far I’ve come since starting with the Department of Justice,” Ms Sweet said.
