Publication:Sea Talk Summer 2007/‘We’ll keep you posted’

by Captain Michael Noonan and LCDR Annette Nelson

With career management planning and postings very near and dear to the hearts of Navy folk and their families, Sea Change would like to take this SeaTalk opportunity to feature a query and response recently posted on the Sea Change Implementation Management and Reporting System (SCIMARS) database.

(While not all SCIMARS feedback items are appropriate for Navy-wide dissemination, those items with a message for all are often circulated as FAQs in SCIMARS or make it to the regular ‘Do You Hear There!’ column of Navy News. The Sea Change Implementation Team (SCIT) believes the following is of value to Sea Talk’s readership.)

Question from LEUT Clint Thomson, Garden Island, FBE: Noting the intent of the 5YCP, is Navy currently investigating the excessive requirement to complete three separate career preference forms (5YCP, AD148 and EPAR on PMKeys Self Service)?

It appears that there is potential to enter conflicting information in all three, and thereby confuse not only the sailor, but the career manager as well. In addition, this causes a greater administrative burden on all parties involved and reduces the effectiveness of all three career preference reporting systems.

A suggestion would be to incorporate all three (5YCP, EPAR and AD148) and allow submission via PMKeyS to a sailors supervisor / Divisional Officer for their input (much like leave forms) prior to being sent to DSCM for acceptance.

Answer by Director of Sailors Career Management, CAPT Michael Noonan: Clint, thank you for your SCIMARS submission on the Five Year Career Plan (5YCP), and more broadly in the detail of our sailors' career management. I very much appreciate your comments and fully agree that on the surface, at least, it appears that there is a level of duplication in some of the forms used for recording career preference information.

One minor point of correction, there are in fact only two forms to assist in career management, the FYCP and the AD148 (also known as an EPAR when submitted online). The two forms represent the two levels of career management, the strategic (FYCP) management conducted by DSCM Canberra and covering a period of approx 5 years, and the tactical (AD 148) which looks at a sailor’s very next posting, and this is managed by the local career management centre (LCMC).

The FYCP is a Navy-specific initiative which was developed out of the Sea Change program. It is to provide the sailor (and his/her family) and the RAN with an agreed plan for their geographical location and employment type (sea or shore, broad platform type) over a five year period. The plan is critically assessed by DSCM for feasibility and can incorporate periods of long service leave, leave without pay and identify opportunities for promotion or professional courses. It is considerably more comprehensive than a AD 148 "dream sheet" and provides sailors and their families with realistic expectations based on available options. It also enables the RAN, and more specifically DSCM to better manage the RAN workforce into the future.

The AD148/EPAR is a tri-service form that is compliant with PMKeyS software, enabling personnel to fill it out, update and view the most recent/current online. It indicates sailors’ preferences for their next postings and is used by the local career management centres in developing posting plans at the local level within the framework of their agreed FYCP. It is acknowledged that the 3-5 year planning tool in the AD148 can be confusing, but this is an unfortunate consequence of its tri-service nature.

The following is an example of how these two forms work together to best assist the sailor in achieving career goals. A LSBM may have the following agreed FYCP:

2007	Sydney	Sea
2008	Sydney	Sea
2009	Sydney	Shore
2010	Sydney	Shore
2011	Cairns	Sea

Incorporated is a six month period of civil schooling in the first half of 2009 and a SSNWC course in the latter half of 2010. The sailor and DSCM Canberra have agreed to this plan and the sailor can plan with confidence. Unless it has been renegotiated by the sailor or by DSCM for service reasons, this plan will reflect his or her geographic location and employment type for the next five years. In contrast, the same Sailor’s AD148/EPAR may reflect:

Sea preferences

1. ACPB
2. FFH
3. FFG

Least preferred

1. MHC
2. AO

Shore preferences

1. HMAS Cairns
2. HMAS Watson
3. HMAS Kuttabul

Least preferred

1. HMAS Waterhen
2. HMAS Stirling

DSCM FBE can then manage the sailor and local unit posting plans taking into account the desires of the sailor and service requirements as long as it is in the boundaries of the FYCP. The final posting plan may end up being:

2007	Ballarat
2008	Darwin
2009	Approved Civil schooling, FSU Sydney
2010	HMAS Watson (navigation faculty), panelled for SSNC end of 2010
2011	Ardent 2 (Cairns based ACPB Crew)

Ultimately, the FYCP has considerably more rigour applied to it, and most significantly - is an agreed plan. The AD 148 identifies a sailor’s specific preferences and should complement the FYCP and highlight volunteer status for positions or employment type that is by selection and cannot be agreed to in a FYCP, i.e. representational posting, DFR etc.

A sailor should review and renegotiate their FYCP about every three years, on promotion or whenever their personnel circumstances dictate. A new FYCP will need to be agreed by both the sailor and DSCM. The AD 148 can be altered at any time by the sailor. Although sailors are encouraged to keep divisional staff closely engaged in this process, and no posting action will be taken without appropriate consultation with the command, the divisional staff or command’s input is not essential.

I hope this not only helps to explain some of the strengths of the FYCP, but also shows how we are improving the career management processes for our sailors. Please do not hesitate to contact me [DSCM] if there are any other current or future career management issues that you would like to address. An Update:

From a total of 8435 sailors, as of October 2007, only 1105 (13 per cent) have submitted a FYCP. Whilst FYCP were first introduced to senior sailor ranks in 2005, the take-up of the new career management strategy has not been as great as first expected.

Early 2007 saw a fresh outlook on the approach and implementation of the FYCP, as a result of several initiatives, including, but not limited to:

• Specific category school FYCP. Implemented in September 2007, each school has been provided with a one page FYCP specifically designed for each category. The staff have trainees fill out these forms towards the end of their course for despatch to DSCM. By introducing FYCP this way, it will become a habit for new personnel to ensure their career managers are kept 'in the loop' with members’ career aspirations.
• Promotions. A request to revise/ complete a FYCP is now included on all promotion/ posting signals.
• Regional career management cell. This initiative includes a weekly visit to Albatross, as well as visits to Cerberus, Adelaide, Wagga and SE Qld.

During these interviews, the individuals’ FYCPs are discussed.

A message from the Sea Change Implementation Team (SCIT): If you have a burning question to ask or a great suggestion to put forward, why not do as LEUT Clint Thomson has done and use SCIMARS. SCIT will seek to get a timely and considered response to your feedback. SCIMARS can be accessed via http://navy.defence.gov.au/SCIMARS/index.asp or by e-mailing navy.scit@defence.gov.au. Just a reminder though, SCIMARS is not a vehicle to short-circuit or to subvert the divisional system or the chain of command. Items received of a personal nature will be re-directed to local management for action. We’d love to hear from you.