Short courses for workplace teams

Practical workshops in the skills people use at work.

McMillan has delivered workshops to workplace teams since 1989, mostly in the Australian Public Service. Courses are run as half-day or full-day sessions, online or face-to-face, for closed cohorts of your team.

Aligned to the APS Craft Capability Framework and APS Workforce Strategy 2025

What we do

Workshops on the skills people use at work, delivered to your team as a closed cohort.

McMillan runs short workshops on the skills people use at work — writing a brief, leading a team through change, having a difficult conversation, running a meeting.

Most of the workshops we deliver are for public sector teams. That’s where we specialise, and where we draw the workshop content and case studies from. But the skills themselves aren’t APS-specific, and the workshops are just as relevant for teams outside government. Private sector, corporate, not-for-profit — if the workshop topic fits your team’s need, we can adapt the content to your industry.

Content is contextualised to your organisation before delivery — your current priorities, your work type, your operating environment.

Who we work with

- APS L&D managers planning capability development
- ACT Government team leads running unit-level training
- EL2 and SES sponsors investing in team development
- People and culture teams aligning training to APS capability frameworks
- Private sector, corporate, and not-for-profit teams looking for practical, well-delivered workplace training

How our workshops work

Four principles shape every workshop we deliver.

Closed cohort

Workshops are delivered to your team only. Your team learns together, discusses their own work, and applies the content to shared context.

Contextualised content

Every workshop is adapted to your organisation before delivery. Case studies, examples, and exercises reflect the work your team actually does.

Experienced facilitators

Workshops are delivered by facilitators with real experience in the sectors and roles they train.

Practical and applied

Every workshop is built around what your team will do differently on Monday morning. Skills, tools, and frameworks they can use straight away.

Workshop catalogue

Workshops across five capability areas. Half-day or full-day delivery, online or in-person.

APS Foundations

Working in government, APS Values, and public sector context.

Foundations of Government — Half day. Understand how government works, the machinery of the APS, and how decisions get made across agencies.
Working in the APS and our department — Half day. Orient new staff to APS structures, culture, and expectations. Tailorable to your specific department.
APS Values: Working ethically in the public service — Half day. Apply APS Values and Code of Conduct to real workplace decisions and grey-zone scenarios.

Personal Effectiveness

Skills your team needs to work well under pressure and complex demands.

Developing resilience — Half day. Practical strategies for sustained performance in demanding work environments.
Managing time and work priorities — Half day. Frameworks for triaging competing demands and briefing timeframes.
Emotional intelligence — Half day. Build self-awareness, regulate under pressure, and read workplace dynamics accurately.
Judgement and decision making — Half day. Structured approaches to making defensible decisions in ambiguous conditions.
Applying for jobs in the APS — Half day. APS-specific job application skills including selection criteria, STAR responses, and interview preparation.

Communication and Writing

Written and spoken communication for workplace teams — briefs, submissions, presentations, and meetings.

Essential communication skills — Half day. Foundation communication skills for workplace interactions across levels and functions.
APS writing skills — Full day. Structure, tone, and clarity for APS documents. Practical techniques for briefs, emails, and workplace writing.
APS brief writing essentials — Full day. Ministerial briefs, ministerial submissions, and executive briefs — structure, style, and stakeholder expectations.
Presentation skills — Full day. Structure, delivery, and audience management for presentations and stakeholder engagements.
Facilitation skills — Full day. Design and run effective workshops, meetings, and consultation sessions.
Giving and receiving feedback — Half day. Practical models for constructive workplace feedback and performance conversations.

Working with Others

Collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and workplace relationships.

Effective stakeholder management — Half day. Map, prioritise, and engage stakeholders across internal and external environments.
Building relationships in the workplace — Half day. Practical skills for building trust and working effectively across teams and functions.
Coaching in the workplace — Full day. Coaching models and conversations for workplace performance and development.
Mentoring in the workplace — Full day. Structure and skills for effective workplace mentoring relationships.
Conflict resolution — Half day. Frameworks for identifying, addressing, and resolving workplace conflict.
Managing difficult conversations — Half day. Prepare for and hold conversations that people usually avoid — performance, behaviour, expectations.
Influencing and negotiating in the workplace — Full day. Influence without authority and negotiate outcomes across complex environments.

Leading Teams and Change

Leadership, team building, and managing organisational change.

Introduction to leadership — Full day. Foundation leadership skills for new EL1s and first-time team leaders.
Building and leading high performing teams — Half day. Practical models for building, motivating, and sustaining high-performing teams.
Bias free recruitment — Half day. Structured recruitment approaches that reduce bias and support merit-based hiring.
Dealing with change — Half day. Personal and team strategies for managing organisational change.
Leading change — Full day. Frameworks for leading change initiatives — planning, communication, and managing resistance.
Leading a positive workplace culture — Full day. Practical approaches for shaping and sustaining constructive team culture.
Foundations of project management — Two half days. Project management fundamentals — scoping, planning, delivery, and evaluation.

Cohort pricing

Workshops are priced per cohort. All prices include GST.

Prices below are for online delivery. Face-to-face pricing depends on location and covers travel, venue, and room hire. Contact us for a face-to-face quote.

Workshop format Cohort price (inc GST)

Half day workshop (up to 20 participants) $3,300

Full day workshop (up to 20 participants) $5,720

Design and contextualisation fee (once per course, per client) $1,320

Minimum cohort size: 8 participants. Maximum: 20 participants.

The design fee is charged once per course, per client. It’s waived for repeat deliveries of the same course, and can also be waived if standard content meets your needs. Custom pricing applies for heavily tailored content, multi-course programs, or high-volume repeat delivery. Get in touch and we’ll scope it with you.

Let's talk about your training needs

Tell us who you are and what you’re after — Ben or Lauren will get back to you.

Prefer to call? Phone us on (02) 6230 0266.