The updated plan emphasises priority areas where
we need to build capability in the civil service.
The
Capabilities Plan 2014 Annual Refresh takes stock of progress to date and sets
out what needs to be done next. In his foreword, Head of the Civil Service Sir
Bob Kerslake says the foundations of a more capable and professional Civil
Service have been laid, but realising the vision for capability in the 4
priority areas will take time.
Read the Capabilities Plan 2014
Annual Refresh.
Last year’s Meeting the Challenge of
Change – a capabilities plan for the Civil Service –
identified 4 priority areas for development:
- leading and managing change
- commercial skills and behaviours
- delivering successful projects and
programmes
- redesigning services and delivering them
digitally
This year, for the first time, the civil service has a
talent stream to identify and develop new recruits at all levels, from
apprentices and Fast Stream entrants, through to the most senior civil
servants. A secondments scheme is giving the most talented civil servants the
opportunity to experience working in the private sector. At the same time,
private sector secondees are coming to work in the civil service and share
their expertise and experience.
Last year’s successes
Capabilities Plan successes from the past year
include:
- over 200 leaders of the biggest projects across
government have enrolled in the Major Projects Leadership Academy since
February 2012; to date, 47 have graduated
- over 280,000 civil servants assessed their skills
against the Civil Service Competency Framework, helping them to understand
their development needs better and plan their learning
- over 3,600 civil servants have attended or enrolled on
our ‘Change Leaders’ workshop since the end of
2013
- the
Crown Commercial Service now operates as a single organisation to buy common
goods and services across departments, ensuring we build sustainable supplier
relationships, and drive the best deal for the taxpayer from our commercial
transactions
Future plans
Going forward, looking at the 4 priority areas;
important actions for 2014 to 2015 include:
- bringing in high quality commercial expertise, supported
by the Crown Commercial Service
- enrolling all project leaders of Government Major
Project Portfolio projects in the Major Projects Leadership
Academy
- creating high quality learning for the 4 areas that
matter most across the civil service
In
the next 12 months senior leaders will champion renewed efforts to change
attitudes to learning and development. They will be expected to lead a more
corporate approach to building capability by drawing on central expertise like
Civil Service Learning and Crown Commercial Service and sharing expertise.
Every civil servant, regardless of grade or role, must complete at least 5 days
of learning a year that meets the needs of their business and the skills needed
for the job.
The refreshed Capabilities
Plan also shows that we must strengthen civil service professions more
quickly, putting in place talent strategies, career paths, and accreditation
and qualification options for their members. By the middle of 2015, accredited
courses will start to be available for some, including policy
professionals.