In September 2020, we foreshadowed the future, writing the following blog:

The ABC recently reported that “Commonwealth spending on consulting and labour-hire firms now exceeds $5 billion a year.” Read the full story here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-10/contractors-and-the-public-service-gig-economy/12647956

Tanner James is acutely aware of this situation. For more than two decades, our business has revolved around training and coaching federal government employees (in fact we’ve trained more than 15,000 staff).

In recent years, the demand for our services has fallen dramatically – we’ve observed that the Australian Public Service (APS) is less and less likely to turn to training (coaching) organisation’s like ourselves for nurturing its internal capability. Instead, there is a distinct preference to address skills shortages through the labour-hire market. Temporarily buying-in people (as a commodity) to address skills gaps rather than investing in its permanent workforce.

However, in the long-term, this situation presents a massive risk for our nation. With a shrinking investment in the skills and knowledge base of its permanent workforce, the APS will eventually be so reliant on external contractors that it will have lost its ability to function independently.

Shift away from consulting companies

The Albanese Government has made significant moves to shift the APS away from consultancies and body-hire agencies. Indeed the next Labour Conference (ACT branch) intends to look at a motion further restricting consultancies operations within the APS.

Prescient words

It is encouraging to see the government make these moves to reform its engagement with consultancies.  Our observations from 2020, that this over-reliance was a risk to our nation still holds true.

Specialist expertise – true to our core mission

At TJ we have never been a body-shop providing staff to fill APS roles. Instead our core business is training and coaching APS staff in management frameworks, including MSP and PRINCE2, of which we are the subject matter experts. Through our decades of coaching the APS, we know that coaching is an effective way to build capability in APS staff in real world conditions.

By working and coaching at all levels including the SES we aim to build capability, both vertically and horizontally, within teams.

Opportunities for TJ

We believe new people coming into the APS and those moving around should be carefully inducted.  At the outset they must be equipped with the right management knowledge.

As they put new skills into practice they should be regularly mentored and coached, and from time-to-time rotated across the APS to ensure their experience and knowledge is shared.

Embedding skills in program and project management will help new people to quickly get up to speed to manage often deceptively complex programs and projects.

The Tanner James Ethos

“We believe consultants serve the APS best by helping transfer specialist knowledge and building the capability of public servants, not by taking their jobs”

John Howarth, Tanner James Executive Director

Tanner James’ 30 years of experience across the public sector shows that while training courses provide good foundational knowledge, the real value of such learning is only realised when the knowledge is put into practice for the APS with the guidance and support of experienced people.

The Tanner James ethos is to meld our extensive experience of implementing program and project management best practice in the APS with the subject matter expertise of public servants. This way we can establish first-class programs and projects that deliver.

Tanner James are experts at helping the APS adapt program and project management methods to create trusted, true partnerships with all delivery partners. These partnerships have clear objectives, collaborative performance and genuine engagement.

Building APS capability by working alongside public servants, not doing their jobs for them, creates a robust design and delivery culture within departments and agencies.

To find out how we can help you, contact us on 1300 774 623 or email our Head of Public Sector Engagement, Sam Russell.