Over 4,300 new full time staff were employed with the Western Australian public sector in the March quarter, according to a new report released today.
Over 4,300 new full time staff were employed with the Western Australian public sector in the March quarter, according to a new report released today.
The full text of an announcement from the Premier's office is pasted below
The State Government has boosted numbers in education and training, health and law and order with more than 4,300 full-time staff employed during the March 2007 quarter.
Premier Alan Carpenter said schoolteachers and TAFE lecturers accounted for more than 70 per cent of the total increase, with substantial increases in nurses, police and community development also recorded.
The figures were part of the quarterly Western Australian Public Sector Full Time Equivalent (FTE) report ending March 2007.
Mr Carpenter said that when comparing the latest figures to the previous quarter, it was important to note the education and training figures included a seasonal decrease of 2,474 FTEs with the termination of casual and contract staff at the end of the academic year.
As evident from the March quarter figures, many of these contract teachers were re-employed for the 2007 school year.
The additional FTEs included:
- 3,166 in education and training including 1,387 teachers and 540 TAFE lecturers and service staff (this is a combination of re-employment of contract and casual staff and new employees);
- 589 in health including 323 nurses, 96 medical staff and 92 medical support staff;
- 218 in law and order including 42 police cadets and 54 police staff, 10 prison officers, 13 legal graduate trainees and 11 vacancies filled at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions;
- 88 in the Department of Community Development, with more than half of those directly involved in service delivery;
- 48 in public transport including 10 transit officers, four railcar drivers, and additional engineers, technicians and managers working on the expanding Urban Rail Network; and
- 51 in planning and infrastructure including 15 graduates, 10 staff to assist in survey work for the Planning Commission and seven in the licensing area.
The Premier said that since 2001, the State Government had employed more than 1,400 extra teachers, thousands of extra education assistants, more than 2,000 extra nurses, 330 extra police, with a current recruitment drive for a further 300 child protection staff.
"However, we still face shortages, and that reflects the massive growth which is going on in the WA economy, and we have just reached 2.7 per cent unemployment, the lowest in the country and the lowest rate on record," he said.
"The extraordinary success of WA's booming economy has created a shortage of labour, putting pressure not only on the State Government but across the private sector as well.
"We are in a similar situation as most other employers in WA - we need more staff.
"But I'd rather have the challenges of a powerfully growing economy, than the one that confronted us when we got into Government - a shrinking economy, people losing their jobs and people unable to find jobs."
Mr Carpenter also released the State Government's policy on initiatives and solutions across the public sector for attracting and retaining key service area employees - 'Meeting the Challenge: Attracting and Keeping Public Sector Employees'.
The policy was released in conjunction with the State Government's 'Retirement Intentions 2006: Survey of the Western Australian Public Sector Employees 45 years or Older'.
The response rate to the retirement survey was 33 per cent (approximately 17,800 respondents), with almost two thirds of the respondents intending to retire in the next 10 years.
"We have committed $10.695million over five years to public sector improvement and are focusing on whole-of-government initiatives addressing attraction and retention, workforce planning and workforce development with emphasis on skills development in the regions," Mr Carpenter said.
Initiatives under way to help attract and retain public sector staff included:
- offering mature-age employees more flexible work arrangements, such as phased retirements;
- leadership development opportunities such as mobility programs, training and mentoring;
- review of recruitment practices;
- regional allowances, specific training and development programs and non-monetary benefits to enhance the attractiveness of public sector employment in regional locations; and
- local solutions to key service areas (police, teachers, nurses, prison officers, child protection workers).
A full copy of the March quarter report, the annual Profile of the WA State Government Workforce (June 2006) and retirement survey can be found at http://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/psmd
