The Canberra bubble

By John McCluskey, Managing Director, Whizdom, APSCo Director

As we approach the end of financial year and navigate the craziness of securing renewals for contractors, while managing conflicting rate expectations from clients and contractors, it has been a battle not for the faint hearted in the Nation’s capital.

The new Federal Government has made it clear that they intend to reduce their reliance on contractors in favour of a larger public service and potential cost benefit, posing additional challenges for the Canberra staffing and services sector in the upcoming fiscal year.

Large consulting firms such as PWC, Deloitte, and others have recently been the subject of negative media coverage, stemming from allegations of legal misconduct. As a result, the perception of our industry has been negatively impacted. More scrutiny will be applied to all government contracts, and it is crucial that our industry and professional staffing firms avoid being implicated in any wrongdoing.

Through industry associations like APSCo, we should be strongly promoting industry best practices and quality assurance.

APSCo accreditation and certification should be our badge of difference, as a symbol of our dedication to excellence, professionalism, and high standards. We should position ourselves as part of the solution rather than being held accountable for the mistakes of others in the industry. APSCo have always taken affirmative action against members in breach of APSCo's “Code of Conduct” using either remediation or termination of membership. To demonstrate the value of our association and industry, let's continue to lobby governments and support the cleanup of companies and practises that reflect negatively on our industry.

Across public and private sectors, recruiting firms will always support ongoing and future resource requirements for speciality, project, and niche skills that don't make economic sense to recruit permanently.

We don't do a very good job promoting ourselves, especially when it comes to value and outcomes based on contract milestones end dates.

Canberra will undoubtedly face challenges over the next two yearsbut this is a unique opportunity for us to emphasise our value as a resourcing service partner that is focused on client outcomes, compliance, integrity that is both cost effective and a great option for work that does not need to be qualified by high-end consultancies.

Your brand identity should include promoting APSCo membership as the trusted brand for professional staffing to clients. The Federal Government could opt to leverage industry groups like APSCo to verify corporate compliance with minimal criteria for regulatory and quality control to lessen risks to clients and better manage employment duties to on-hired workers.