2016 DEFENCE WHITE PAPER

Retaining our people 153
6.29 Joint military education across the ADF is growing in importance.
Defence must ensure that our Defence colleges and educational
institutions are best equipped to develop the future leaders of the ADF.
Specific priorities for the APS are to professionalise the workforce in
roles that are critical to delivering and sustaining Defence’s capabilities,
and to build greater leadership capability in the executive level
workforce. Defence APS graduate development and training will bring
more emphasis to improving policy skills.
6.30 Defence will continue partnering with accredited academic institutions
so that Defence personnel are provided the best education in relevant
specialised fields such as national security policy analysis, intelligence,
capability development, engineering and a range of technical training.
Defence will ensure personnel who need to acquire new skills can do
so efficiently through improved technology to enhance flexibility and
innovation in training, education, and skilling.
6.31 Defence will expand cultural and language capabilities to increase
its effectiveness in operating in the region and collaborating with
international partners. Defence will develop higher levels of cultural
understanding of our region, including more intensive training for those
who work routinely with regional partners. Defence will increase the
number of personnel with intermediate and advanced language skills
to support our enhanced international engagement, with a focus on
languages in the Indo-Pacific region.
SECTION TWO CAPABILITY
Retaining our people
6.32 Retaining the high-quality, experienced staff that Defence has developed
over time is as important as attracting new talent. The Government is
not complacent about the challenges in retaining and growing the highly
skilled workforce Defence needs to deliver the plans set out in this
White Paper.
2016 DEFENCE WHITE PAPER