Public Sector Commission Employment Referral Service

Information for prospective government sector trainees, school-based trainees, traineeship graduates and agencies.
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The Commission provides a recruitment and referral service to match prospective trainees with traineeship opportunities across most WA government sector entities.

The service also supports the retention of trainee graduates in the sector through a traineeship transition to employment referral service. This service provides a way for eligible graduates to register their interest in being considered for direct appointment into a vacant level 1 position. 

Read below for an overview of the services offered, and how prospective trainees, trainee graduates and government sector entities can be involved. 

Information for prospective trainees

WA government sector traineeships are available for job seekers aged 24 years and under and are offered in every region across the state. 

Trainees receive:

  • a paid 12 month (full-time) or 18 month (part-time) traineeship
  • support and guidance throughout their traineeship
  • public administration skills development
  • the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised qualification on completion of the traineeship – Certificate II, III or IV in Government (Public Administration)

To be considered, you must:

  • have completed a minimum of Year 10 or equivalent
  • be a permanent resident or Australian citizen. If you’re not a permanent resident, Australian citizen or New Zealand citizen residing in Australia you will need to provide visa details.
  • be committed to working full time for up to 12 months (or part time for up to 18 months) in a government office environment.

To register and receive traineeship job alerts:

  • visit Job Search
  • Click on 'Email me jobs' and select ‘Apprenticeship/Traineeship’ under 'Occupation' when completing the alert details.

If you haven’t set up an account, you will need to enter your name and email first.

Information for trainee graduates

Once you have graduated from a government sector traineeship, you can register your interest in permanent or fixed term level 1 administration officer positions.

Any public sector entity can directly appoint you into a level 1 position through the service without the need of a further recruitment process (in accordance with Commissioner's Instruction 2 - 4.1c).

You can register using the Traineeship Transition to Employment Referral Service form.

Information for agencies

Agencies can request trainee and level 1 candidates from the following youth diversity streams at any time throughout the year:

  • Young people 24 years of age or under.
  • Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
  • Young people from regional areas.
  • Young people with disability.

Delivering a traineeship program

Traineeships assist agencies develop strong, diverse and capable workforces for a future-fit sector. Traineeships in government administration are a fantastic way for agencies to tap into new ideas and fresh talent, while giving young people a career boost.

By having your own traineeship program, your agency can:

  • increase youth employment and support the public sector’s commitment to employing young people
  • target groups according to your agency’s diversity needs
  • develop your future-fit workforce
  • support strategies in your integrated Workforce and Diversity Plan
  • build your agency’s base of skilled and qualified young people who are trained in line with your agency’s operational and strategic objectives
  • provide mentorship and leadership development opportunities for staff supervising trainees
  • tap into innovative ideas from a youth perspective
  • invest in future talent for the public sector. 

Agencies can recruit and appoint trainees using the Public Sector Commission’s Recruitment and Referral Service. The service enables agencies to use the flexibility in Commissioner’s Instruction No 2: Filling a public sector vacancy, (section 4.1c) to employ trainees via a general traineeship or school-based traineeship.

The service is available to any WA government sector entity that has access to the public sector Recruitment Advertising Management System (RAMS) and offers the following benefits:

  • Fill vacancies faster with access to a ready database full of diverse talent, and no requirement to undertake redeployment clearance.
  • Save costs on advertising, focusing on the section of trainees.
  • Simple and cost-effective recruitment.
  • Support and advice from the Public Sector Commission team.

Essential information for on-boarding your new trainee recruit  

Once you have selected an applicant and offered traineeship employment, there are a few extra steps that need to occur in the appointment and induction of a trainee. The Commission can support you throughout this process. 

  1. A national training contract needs to be signed to formalise the traineeship arrangement. This is a legislative requirement under Part 7 of the Vocational Education and Training Act 1996. The training contract dates must align with the period of employment stated in the employment contract.
  2. Arrange for the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network to attend the workplace on the trainee’s first day of employment so they can sign their national training contract. The Commission will provide you with this information as you finalise the traineeship recruitment process. 

Appointing a graduate trainee to an entry level vacancy

Agencies can appoint graduate school-based or full-time trainees to an entry level or level 1 vacancy.

The Recruitment and Referral Service enables public sector agencies to appoint candidates who have successfully completed their traineeships in Certificate II, III or IV in Government (Public Administration) into entry level positions.

Agencies can register by completing the Traineeship Transition to Employment Referral Service form.

Instructions for agencies - using RAMS to access the service

Agencies can use Recruitment Advertising Management System (RAMS) to access the Commission's recruitment and referral service.

Agencies can:

  • view the pool of perspective trainees to recruit to their traineeship program
  • view the pool of graduate trainees to directly appoint into an entry level 1 position. 

1. Submit a trainee or level 1 vacancy request via RAMS.

  • Log into RAMS.
  • Select 'Menu'.
  • Click 'Vacancies'.
  • Select 'New Request'.
  • Complete request form according to the following:
Necessary fields to complete
Job titleSchool-based trainee Certificate II in Government'
Vacancy type

 Select one of the following:

  • Trainee request
  • Level 1 request
  • Trainee transition to Employment
Term
  • Trainees can be 12 to 18 months 
  • Level 1 can be any length of time
  • Fixed term or permanent

For permanent level 1 appointments  a 4 day redeployment clearance period applies.

ANZSCO code 9999
Classification Select ‘ trainee' or ‘level 1’
Comments
  • Include information you want the Commission to consider when referring candidates (e.g. rotation plans, hours of work, recruiting from a diverse group).
  • You can request a specific trainee graduate to be referred for a level 1 position.
Level 'Trainee' or ‘level 1’
Occupation 'Apprenticeship/Traineeship' or ‘Administration/Support Service’
  • Click 'Store'

If your agency has multiple requests you can go to a particular vacancy and create multiple entries by clicking 'Copy'.

2. Review resumes.

The Commission will provide resumes in RAMS according to your request and will notify you by email once this has happened, so you can begin the shortlisting process.

To view the resumes referred to you:

  • Log into RAMS.
  • Select 'Menu'.
  • Click 'My Vacancies'.
  • Click the referrals link to see a list of referred students.
  • Click on the student's name to view their contact details.
  • Click 'Menu' within the attachment to view the student's resume.

3. Recruit applicant/s through your own selection process, which may include an interview.

After the selection process has been completed and you have notified the successful candidate, advise the Commission of the outcome to complete the process.

4. Update RAMS

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