The Australian Public Service (APS) First Nations Graduate Certificate of Management has been recognised through the Australian Business Deans Council Award for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
The award, presented on Friday 15 November, recognises Australia’s most outstanding university academics who have demonstrated leadership through sustained commitment to learning innovation, quality teaching and dedication.
Indigenous Australians account for only 3.5 per cent of the APS workforce, and they mainly occupy low-classification roles with high separation rates and short career tenure. The limitation to career-progression opportunities is due in part to a lack of formal academic qualifications, and the regional or remote locations these employees often work in.
Co-designed by The Australian National University (ANU) College of Business and Economics (CBE) and the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) from 2019–2020, this bespoke program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples working in the APS helps address these issues and break down APS career barriers.
With dedicated academic support, mentoring and pastoral care, the ANU program focuses on upskilling participants with a foundation of knowledge, skills and applications across management disciplines. Each of the program’s modules is grounded in a culturally safe learning environment and culturally responsive pedagogies. The very nature of the cohort-learning approach in the program engenders the sharing of identities and a sense of belonging.
It also considers diverse student learning needs, ranging from neurodiversity and socio-economic pressures, to remote localities and being first in the family or community to undertake tertiary study.
The program’s success has been acknowledged by senior executives at ANU and across the APS. This is reflected by Tammy Fitzgerald from Services Australia, a member of the 2022 cohort:
The program provided me with the opportunity to study and grow alongside like-minded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from all over the country. Being provided with knowledge that opened up opportunities for mob to have a voice at the table was really rewarding for me. Connection to our culture, Country, spirituality and ancestors is what underpins everything for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Being in a learning environment, which enabled us to share lived experiences and have no shame was powerful. It is a big motivator for me to continue with my studies to influence better outcomes for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Since its pilot in 2021 (including this year’s cohort), the program has supported and celebrated 78 scholars. It has achieved an 84 per cent completion rate, with 98 per cent participant satisfaction in meeting expectations, 96 per cent in management knowledge enhancement, 92 per cent in career progression, and a 100 per cent recommendation rate.
Sixty-five per cent of commencing students did not have any prior tertiary qualification. A high number of alumni have gained promotions and/or are acting in higher level roles across the APS – a success they attribute to the program. Alumni have also gone on to undertake further postgraduate studies, with some being the recipients of prestigious scholarships, including three Sir Roland Wilson Pat Turner Scholars.
The program’s outstanding success and life-changing impacts on participants will continue for the 2025 intake. And with more to be done for the future generations of Indigenous public servants, the award-winning team behind this innovative program hope that it will continue well beyond the next year.
Professor Steven Roberts, CBE’s Dean, is proud of the Australian Business Deans Council’s recognition of the program.
“Congratulations to the College team for this acknowledgement of the hard work and commitment they put into making the APS First Nations Graduate Certificate of Management the success that it is,” he says.
Professor Vinh Lu, Director of the ANU Research School of Management, adds:
The APS First Nations Graduate Certificate Program is a success thanks to the valuable partnership with NIAA, the sponsorships and commitments from various agencies and departments across the APS, and the ongoing support from the NIAA Workforce Capability colleagues. All of us are continuously impressed by the fantastic career outcomes achieved by our students and alumni trailblazers, whose resilience and thirst for knowledge knows no bounds. The ANU team is very privileged to be part of their stories.
The award recognises the work of the following: Director of the ANU Research School of Management Professor Vinh Lu; Professor Asmi Wood; Senior Fellow in the Practice of Management Benjamin Mitchell; Senior Fellow in the Practice of Business Carlyn Waters; Dr Lucy Morris; Ann Smith; Devin Clementi; Professor Sigi Goode; Dr Katerina Kormusheva; Associate Professor Guihuyn Park; CBE Senior Manager Students and Experience Tanya Ali; Haynes Crossley; and Léa Raich.
The ANU College of Business and Economics offers an extensive range of specialised programs. Click here for more.