Career development

 

 

The Institute's Professional Development Working Group oversees the ongoing development of an in-house training program. The working group identifies professional development needs and opportunities for effective courses to assist both staff and students.

 

The Institute's Appointment and Promotions Committee reports directly to the Board and oversees the senior academic and general staff appointments. In addition, this committee oversees some of the relevant Human Resources Policies and promotion opportunities for research staff. The committee has a major role in assessing the professional development activities at the Institute. The committee aims to identify early career researchers and assist them in their development, in some cases this assistance may include providing assistance to obtain competitive funding.

 

There are opportunities for many different career paths at the Institute. In the scientific divisions, new graduates commence as Research Assistants and may go on to become senior researchers both here and at other world-renowned organisations. Many people head overseas to do post-doctoral research, only to return to the Institute and the wonderful Western Australian lifestyle. In our administrative areas staff may commence as assistants or officers and with training, experience and an available opportunity, become managers of vital administrative groups within the Institute.

 

Professional Development Review System
In 2001, the Institute developed a standard performance management system. The Staff Professional and Development System (SPADS) was created with flexibility of use in mind and then implemented across the Institute. The SPADS process has been taken up by over 80% of Divisional Heads with continual improvement in the system a priority. This system provides an opportunity for review of individual performance and planning for the next review period. Within this review process, the respective responsibilities of both the reviewee and reviewer are recognised and professional development needs are identified.

 

Research mentoring
The Institute adopts a number of strategies for staff and students to develop relationships with mentors. In the main, these are informal opportunities such as in laboratory meetings, student groups, or within work groups. More formal relationships are offered by way of supervisory relationships or through the Institute governance structure. For example, the Assistant Director has a formal and informal role in offering advice to scientists both directly and via referrals to and from other senior staff.