Publication:Sea Talk Winter 2006/Enhanced career prospects for sailors and their families
{{Stats publication|Sea Talk|2006|issue=Winter|title=}Enhanced career prospects for sailors and their families}
By Annie Casey
The Five Year Career Plan (FYCP) just introduced by the Directorate of Sailors' Career Management will give sailors a greater opportunity to influence the direction of their own careers and more certainty about where they serve.
"The plan in an important new career management initiative," said the Director of Sailors' Career Management, CAPT Peter Laver.
"It's important also to understand while each member's circumstances and aspirations may change over time, Service requirements may also change, therefore a FYCP is a plan, not a binding agreement.
"However, the Navy is listening to sailors preferred locations so long as they also meet Service needs."
The Five Year Career Plan form (adjacent) allows members to indicate their Career goal and desired employment location, as well as preferences for timing of sea Service and career advancement training.
The form also provides space for members, their divisional staff, and career manager to provide further information in narrative form.
The key aspect of the form is that each sailor's proposed FYCP can be loaded into a database that has current PMKeyS posting information.
Career managers are able to compare each proposed FYCP with correct posting information and other sailors' approved FYCPs to identify whether the plan is consistent with Navy workforce requirements. The proposed FYCP can be approved by the career manager.
FYCP will not change fundamental aspects of RAN employment, such as the requirement for sea service and deployment or the need to replace sailors who are not able to complete sea Service because of a short-term personal crisis.
The new FYCP will help career managers make better informed decisions. They will be better placed to understand and compare sailor's career aspirations enabling them to make better and earlier posting decisions.
In addition, career managers will be able to select replacements among members whose career aspiration best meets the circumstance. FYCP will also allow members to propose and undertake sea service in a period that is consistent with their personal circumstances, rather than being posted to sea as the next member on the roster.
Electronic copies of the FYCP form are available on the DSCM (internal) website. Tutorials and supporting documentation are also available on the DSCM website in the 'Career Management and Planning' area.
While a FYCP is a plan, not a binding agreement, it will help career managers to better consider (and generally meet) sailors' career aspirations where these are consistent with inbuilt requirements of service.
