“ Going through the three rotations of the graduate program has made me think more about what I would like to do in the future.”
I have a Bachelor of Multimedia/Bachelor of Communication from Monash University. I am currently working in the Department of Premier & Cabinet – Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO).
I came across the Graduate Recruitment and Development (GRAD) Scheme by accident, at my university’s careers fair. I had never really thought that you could have a career in IT with the government. The Office of the Chief Information Officer sets the agenda for ICT in the Victorian Government. There are a lot of strategic projects going on, and the Office is constantly interacting with the departments and agencies.
My first rotation was with the Department of Education & Training – Online Services,
the web publishing unit, where we dealt with anything from changing a few words on a web page, to building entire sites and applications for internal and external audiences. At Online Services I met quite a few people around the Department, as most areas have a web site of some sort.
I then moved to the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) – Knowledge, Information and Technology (KIT) Branch, which is home to the Chief Information Officer of DPI. This Branch guides the Department on issues to do with knowledge management and IT strategy.
Working with KIT Branch gave me a good view of the Department and how it’s set up, and was quite different from my previous operational role in web development - I was involved with an Enterprise Architecture project, and developing an ICT governance model.
Going through the three rotations of the graduate program has made me think more about what I would like to do in the future. During the year, I’ve tried different types of work, moving from operational activities, to policy development and strategy projects. I’ve also been able to look at the different types of work environments that are out there. I think this gives me a good base to move into a variety of more senior roles in the Victorian Public Service.