The highlights of our achievements during 2007-08 are:

• developing Treasury's employment experience strategy;
• delivering a "leadership-pipeline" program designed to assist aspiring leaders to build a "tool box" of skills;
• continuing to deliver learning and development programs to meet employee needs and build management capability; and
• trialling psychological assessments in selection.

We have also been planning for a new Public Sector Unions Wages Agreement.

Recruitment and selection

Our recruitment practices are designed to select the best person for vacancies. Our core competency framework describes the skill sets that are required at each classification level in the areas of communication; output management; conceptual, analytical and judgement skills; leadership and people skills; and technical and professional skills or knowledge. Treasury seeks to recruit people who are strongly aligned with the Department's core responsibilities, our culture, our vision and our mission.

Our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by Treasury's values - respect, integrity, passion, excellence and camaraderie - as well as by the requirements of the State Service Act 2000, and Commissioner's Direction No. 1 - Employment in the State Service. All vacancies of more than 12 months are advertised in the Tasmanian Government Gazette. Vacancies of less than 12 months are usually advertised internally, providing valuable development opportunities for our employees.

During 2007-08 we appointed 92 people - 36 men and 56 women - to vacancies advertised in the Tasmanian Government Gazette and in local and/or interstate print media. Twenty-three of these appointments were fixed-term. Of the 55 fixed-term positions that were offered internally, 51 had been filled by the end of the financial year (Figure 2.5).

Entrance programs

The Department has two special recruitment initiatives - the Cadetship Program and the Finance Graduate Program. These are designed to attract people who are either intending to complete tertiary studies in areas of relevance to the work of Treasury or seeking to complete post-graduate studies in accounting and finance. Treasury's Cadetship Program is designed for those who have just completed either year 12 or have recently commenced studying at university. A cadetship provides an opportunity to study part-time for a degree in a professional field such as accounting and financial management, economics, business or public policy, while working for up to six years in a central agency. The program combines off-the-job and on-the-job training as each cadet rotates through the various branches of Treasury, usually on a 12-month basis.

Recruitment for the Finance Graduate Program is currently aimed at recent graduates who intend to complete a professional accounting qualification either as a Certified Practising Accountant or through the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. While participating in this program, graduates complete 12-month rotations through various positions in the Government Finance and Accounting Branch and the Budget Management Branch.

During 2007-08 one finance graduate was recruited and seven people were selected for the cadetship program. As at 30 June 2008, there were 13 cadets on staff and four people participating in the Finance Graduate Program.