My Career
Clerks take challenge
By SQNLDR Lindsay Paterson

Volume 49, No. 1, February 8, 2007
 
GOOD ADVICE: Senior Mustering Adviser WOFF Michael Hinton from DMA-AF provides guidance to LACW Kelly Hyland on the Clerk Competency Journal.
Photo by SQNLDR Lindsay Paterson
 
Clerk myths
I have to keep a log of all my work everyday.

Busted – Only a log of any work that relates to a competency. If you have already achieved the competency then you no longer needed to log it.

I can’t achieve any of the competencies because I do not work in an orderly room.

Busted – Simulation may be used to achieve a competency.
WPAs/SMEs can assist with this.

I don’t have an Air Force supervisor so I am disadvantaged.

Busted – A supervisor only signs off that you have been doing, what you have said you have done. The supervisor does not assess.

I cannot be assessed as I do not have a WPA or SME in my area.

Busted – The WPA/SME can be from any area.
AFTER just 12 months in the Air Force, LACW Kelly Hyland has become the first clerk to complete the new Clerk Initial Workbook – doing it in record time.

Located at RAAF Base Tindal, LACW Hyland finished the workbook within one month of starting the first step in the Clerk Competency Journal, a new initiative which was rolled out late last year.

Competency-based training and workplace assessment for clerks is a significant step towards the collective improvement of the clerical contribution to Air Force capability. The intention of the Clerical Competency Journal is to recognise and document the training that is required across the various employment roles of the mustering. The journal is intended to be a record of achievements and training that will provide clerks with aligned civilian accreditation.

Most clerks will be able to achieve the competencies required during their everyday work.

However, there are always some clerks who are working in more diverse areas and may not have the opportunity to practice common core clerical skills on a regular basis. This was the case with LACW Hyland. Much of her assessment was based on simulation, which is a valuable alternative when this situation occurs.

“At first I felt overwhelmed by what was required so I just put the Competency Journal and Workbook away,” LACW Hyland said. “However, our FSGT (an assessor) encouraged us to look at it more closely and just to get started. Once you get into the workbook, it’s not so daunting and the more you do, the easier it becomes.

“What I found was that I needed to look outside the square sometimes to see what I had recently worked on, which could be used as evidence by my assessor. I found that many times a piece of evidence could be used for more than one element and/or competency.

I was pleasantly surprised how much evidence I had available already or could simulate.”
Clerks from the rank of CPL are currently being trained at all bases as workplace assessors (WPA) as this is a requirement under the revised clerk occupational specification. This means that competency assessment is conducted in the work place by the WPA. A number of subject matter experts (SMEs) have been assessed already, also paving the way for an efficient assessment process.

“As competency-based training and assessment is new for clerks, the assessors are going through this transition with us, making it a learning curve for us all. I have had a couple of assessors and they have been really patient and supportive,” LACW Hyland said.

Director of Military Administration–Air Force GPCAPT Andrew Elfverson said the contemporary clerk represents a new expanded capability that can meet emerging organisational challenges, and he was impressed that most clerks had been keen to embrace this big step forward.

“Unfortunately there are a few myths floating around concerning the amount of work relating to the Competency Journal which I hope Kelly’s experience will help to dispel,” he said. “Kelly is a shining example of what can be achieved by any clerk once they make the initial effort.”

More information and a FAQ site can be found on the DMA-AF website at http://intranet.defence.gov.au/raafweb/sites/DMA-AF/