Professional development

We are committed to fostering a communications and engagement professional workforce that is highly capable, collaborative, mobile and motivated to further their career in the public service. 

We provide networking and development opportunities for communications professionals across the sector. We hold in-person and online events every month on a range of topics, to help you to continue delivering effective communications and engagement for your customers.

Sign up to our contact list if you work for NSW Government in:

  • Advertising and marketing
  • Branding
  • Corporate communications
  • Internal communications and engagement
  • Creative services
  • Digital channels
  • Events
  • Media
  • Social media
  • Stakeholder and community engagement

We’ll keep you up-to-date with professional development opportunities relevant to you, and help you connect with your colleagues across the sector.

Development focus areas

The NSW Government communications specialist is continually evolving in response to new technology and audience expectations. 

We have identified five focus areas for our professional development offerings.

1. Channel

The effective integration of communications across our channels (owned, paid and earned) and face-to-face service activities is critical to delivering a positive and holistic customer experience.

We must understand the strengths and weaknesses of various channels and platforms when engaging different audiences

How do we create and deliver powerful online campaigns and visible and engaging online activities? What can we learn that will help us segment, prioritise and map audiences, and engage with diverse and hard-to-reach groups through different channels?

Suggested topics include:

  • Social media and digital communication
  • Social media community management
  • Understanding popular social media platforms
  • Stakeholder and citizen engagement
2. Creative

Creativity and good design are vital in bringing the NSW Government’s stories to life for our customers. We must understand the principles and role of branding, how audiences process visual information, and how to create effective graphics and video.

Suggested topics include:

  • Branding
  • Developing creative content
3. Customer experience

Customer experience is made up of all the individual interactions and touchpoints our customers have with NSW Government.

How do we map and improve customer journeys, segment audiences, and apply behavioural insights and change techniques to deliver effective communications?

Suggested topic include:

  • Behaviour change
  • Customer journey mapping
  • Segmenting audiences
  • Accessibility
  • Inclusive communication
4. Data

Data and insights empower us to give customer the right message, in the right channel, at the right time.

How can we use data to inform our online advertising and measure performance? What statistical tests, predictive modelling techniques and analytical tools can help us be effective?

Suggested topics include:

  • Use of research and data
  • Data collection and storage
  • Audience curation
  • Analytics tools
  • Paid social media
  • Evaluation
5. Trust

Communicators play an important role as strategic advisors with NSW Government, and in building trust among our customers.

What can we learn that will help us influence, problem solve, present our strategies and engage with different stakeholders? How do we recognise disinformation and build strategies to respond quickly?

Suggested topics include:

  • Operating as a strategic adviser
  • Authentic communication
  • Presenting with impact
  • Tackling misinformation
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