Career Prospects at Department of Education

At the end of the year I will move from APS 3 to APS5 and from here you can move through the APS levels if you are competent in your work.

As a graduate, you start as an APS3. In your second rotation you can work at an acting APS4 level, then upon completion of the graduate program you are advanced to an APS5. In the 10-month graduate program you go from an APS3 to an APS5.

As a Grad I've been given more opportunities than an ordinary employee likely receives. For example, I was able to act as an executive assistant to a First Assistant Secretary for two weeks which gave me great visibility of the department's work, and some of the internal processes that usually occur behind closed doors. It also gave me a chance to make myself known to higher-ups which would likely help with promotion/progression opportunities in the future. Halfway through the Grad program, if our supervisor endorses us, we are able to begin acting (with increased pay!) at an APS4 level, as opposed to an APS3 (where we start). By the end of the program, we graduate to an APS5 level. I get the impression it would be a fairly quick transition to move from a APS5 to an APS6 following the Grad Program. Promotion opportunities (to this point, at least) seem fairly easy and good. Moving EL1 and beyond seems to take a lot longer.

The graduate program has built in career progression from APS 3, to APS 4 and then 5 on completion of the program.

Working in the APS provides lots of promotion opportunities both internally and externally. The downside of seeking internal promotions is that it often requires jumping between departments and teams, rather than finding stability and staying in one place for a while. I believe that the skills and work here will assist me if I ever choose to work privately as well.

We get an opportunity to becoming an acting APS4 in our second rotation and upon successful completion of the grad program we progress to an APS5

I find the progression of the grad program to be excellent and well worth the time investment and steep learning curve. Further than that I am unsure what opportunities will arise.

Depends on your work output and the current budget in the area at the time. However over time, promotions are likely if you are a good worker.

It really depends on the area you are in and the budget as well as your performance. Often people move areas because there are slim promotion prospects in some areas. There are formal bulk-promotion rounds that employees can apply for and there are other informal ways to negotiate promotions.

Depends on the area you are in, but generally it appears that there are often many opportunities to 'act up' in the department.

From entry level to mid level, it is relatively easy to move up the ranks. However, at the managerial level, moving up or securing managerial roles can be very difficult.

Grads receive an automatic promotion at the end of the program. I've heard it's fairly easy to move up APS levels in a fairly short space of time.

It is fairly easy to move to the top of the APS band in my department. For former graduates, this can happen over the space of a year or two. It is more difficult to become an executive level employee but graduates have a head-start. It's important to get management experience to move up.

I'm unsure, but this seems to vastly vary depending on the individual and the opportunities they choose for themselves.

Easy to gain 'acting' experience but difficult to secure a permanent promotion.

Progression is merit-based and it is quite easy to climb the ranks at lower levels.

I am unsure as I have always been promoted via entry level programs. I am finally in a position after 4 years that I am an acting APS4 and finally feel as though I am being paid for the quality and amount of work that I do.

It is dependent on line area.

If I were intending to work in policy long-term, there are sufficient opportunities to be promoted quite quickly. I suspect the jump from APS6 to EL1 would take more time, though.

I am not really sure but I know that it is easier in some areas of the department compared to others and sometimes you need to move outside of the department to move up a level.