Public Sector Management Course: A Commonwealth, State and Territory Joint Venture

Reinventing civil servants: Public management development and education to meet the managerialist challenge in Australia

“…The management development process adopted within the APS in the early 1990s embraced post-experience public management education, as a result of the Hawke Labor Government initiating a systematic three-year Middle Management Development Program (MMDP), which also involved State and Territorial governments, and which was under the general supervision and co-ordination of a Board of Management [64]. The intent of the MMDP was in the words of the then Prime Minister, Mr R.J. Hawke (quoted in [64, p. 182]):…”

“…The integral parts of the MMDP were: the provision of specific-programme funding for middle management-relevant skillsdevelopment activities (including accredited management education programmes) undertaken for APS agencies; and a joint-venture project with State and Territory governments to develop an accredited Public Sector Management (PSM) Course, which was to offer "a state-of-the-art accredited programme of practical and professional management training, specifically directed to public sector middle managers" [64, p. 182]. This one-year, part-time public management education programme has been given post-graduate academic standing (Graduate Certificate level) by Griffith University [64]. It is available to civil servants at the SOS level who hold a degree and/or have acceptable middle management work experience.…”

“…The development of the PSM Course was achieved by drawing on the wisdom of experts, and its conduct, by means of contracting out after competitive tendering, was oversighted by a Management Board, with senior representatives from personnel agencies in the states and the Northern Territory, from higher education and from the Australian Council of Trade Unions [64]. The Public Service Commission (PSC), which replaced the once all-powerful PSB, undertook the negotiations for the course, assisted by a project team also comprising seconded officers from the States and the Northern Territory.…”