I’ve recently hit a personal milestone - 10 years in the Australian Public Service. I’m also days away from submitting the final assignment in the Bachelor of IT that I’ve been studying part time for the past few years. These two events had me thinking about the great opportunity I was offered at the start of my career.
I got my start in the APS as part of the 2012 APS ICT Apprenticeship program with DVA. I was lucky to be thrown in the deep end with some great colleagues who taught me everything from making sure to save Excel spreadsheets with the top left cell selected (if you know, you know), through to advanced SQL and strange computers called mainframes. In the years since I’ve started I’ve worked with some truly great people and delivered some really impactful work across a couple of Departments.
For anyone looking for an entry point into the APS, or a starting a career in IT I highly recommend applying for the 2023 intake of the Digital Apprenticeship Program, applications close on the 27th of June. It took me two attempts to get into the program, so if you don’t succeed the first time don’t be dissuaded, try again next year.
In the years since I’ve had a lot of experience recruiting technical people into the APS across the full spectrum of levels. Just before the pandemic hit I had the opportunity to be on the speed dating panel for that year’s intake of apprentices and was grateful to give something back to the program that gave me my start.
Hit me up on Twitter @mhdotnet if you have any questions or would to know more.