Publication:Sea Talk Summer 2005/Sea Change - how Navy is looking after its people
By L CDR Anne Faulconbridge
It is now over a year since the launch of Sea Change, and there are quite a few "runs on the board" to highlight.
Sea Change currently contains over 240 action items. In mid September, 68 action items had been closed.
There have been some high profile initiatives such as the flexi-crewing trial being conducted in HMA Ships Arunta and Warramunga, and the establishment of local Career Management Centres at Fleet Base West (FBW) and in HMAS Coonarwarra Darwin.
But, there have also been lots of less obvious Sea Change actions that are transforming the way that Navy does business.
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Career Transition Advisory Cell (CTAC)
The CTAC was established on 4 August 2004, with the aim of providing a "one stop shop" for sailors considering nominating for officer candidacy.
The CTAC is responsible to the Directorate of Sailors' Career Management (DSCM), but works closely with the Directorate of Navy Officers' Postings (DNOP) to ensure that officer candidates are fully aware of all the requirements of the Officer Selection Boards for appointment to officer. The cell has no specific target group but caters for all ranks in all categories.
Warrant Officers and sailors may apply to enter a primary qualification (PQ), or Warrant Officers may apply for appointment through the Warrant Officer Entry Scheme (WOE).
At face value, changes to the WOE and PQ entry schemes have not been significant. However, the creation of a dedicated WOE desk officer in DNOP provides potential candidates with a single point of contact to discuss career and posting options.
Additionally, the ability of WOE candidates to contact the CTAC has ensured that the success rate of candidates at the boards has been extremely high.
Information on the CTAC website is available at intranet.defence.gov.au/NavyWeb/Sites/DSCM/General%20Information/Becoming%20an%20Officer intranet.defence.gov.au/NavyWeb/Sites/DSCM/General.
Reinvigoration of team sport
The Navy has long recognized the value of involving trainees in extra-curricular activities such as sport.
Sea Change has brought a reinvigoration of sports participation for the whole Navy, particularly team sports. Team sports help develop self-confidence, leadership and teamwork.
Restructuring of the Navy Sports Council ensures that sport in the Navy receives the appropriate attention, and the RAN Central Canteens Fund is helping fund expenses such as registration fees, training coaches, and clothing and equipment.
Recognition of prior learning (RPL)
As you may well imagine, RPL is very difficult to address because of the sheer breadth of the task.
A dedicated Sea Change project has been formed to improve Navy's RPL processes, to expedite greater training flexibility, so that unnecessary training is avoided for those who already have competencies.
The emphasis is on improving policy and administrative processes, including for re-entry and lateral transfers, so that there is better recognition of prior learning within category and primary qualification specific training programs.
The final RPL report was to be submitted to the Director-General Navy Personnel and Training (DGNPT) by the end of November.
Civilian accreditation
While Civilian Accreditation is not new to Navy, it is an important part of the Sea Change program.
The Civil Accreditation Program aims to gain better civilian recognition for Navy training. Over the past 10 years, sailor's category and Officer's primary qualification training has been mapped to 494 different awards. The qualifications range from Certificate II to Graduate Diploma, with some having retrospectivity to 1972.
Where possible, Navy training is being mapped against nationally recognized competencies that lead to national qualifications. There are currently 91 nationally recognised qualifications that Navy can award for completion of various components of Navy training. These details can be viewed at: www.ntis.gov.au/cgi-bin/wax.
The qualifications include awards from the Transport and Distribution Training Package, Hospitality Training Package, Health Training Package, and Metal and Engineering Training Package to name a few. The complete list of qualifications is at Annex A to Chapter 10 of ABR 27 Volume 1 and can be viewed on the DEFWEB. The Record of Training and Employment Office within Navy Personnel and Training Centre - Canberra manages the issue of qualifications.
Recognition and rewards
An important Sea Change initiative has been to improve processes related to the award of medals, commendations and promotions.
Much of this task so far has involved representing Navy's case to the Defence Personnel Executive (DPE), which has carriage of policy for the management of medals, honours and awards.
The good news is that the need for permanent members to 'apply' for the Defence Force Service Medal (DFSM) and the Defence Long Service Medal (DLSM) is now virtually a thing of the past. An automated PMKeyS system is now in place to capture and report information relating to eligible permanent ADF members. Regrettably, the situation is not the same for Reserves. The lack of electronically available Reserve data and the different qualifying requirements of the three Services significantly impacts on the time required for assessing a person's entitlement to a long service award.
More detailed information on Sea Change can be found at mhq.defence.gov.au/SCIMARS.
The way ahead
Our successes with Sea Change are growing. The flexi-crewing trial is underway, and extensive work is being undertaken to improve career management, geographic stability and work/life balance. Sea Change has been up and running for over a year now, so thank you to all of those people who have helped 'to get the ball rolling'. The message from Sea Change for the coming year is - get involved!
