Supporting long-term maritime capability through workforce strategy and planning
Omni supported the Australian Border Force (ABF) in assessing and planning workforce requirements for its civil maritime capability uplift. Through targeted workforce planning expertise, Omni helped ensure the right people, skills, and capacity were aligned to support a long-term capability development program.
Key Outcomes
- Delivered workforce planning support for a 10-year maritime capability uplift
- Enabled alignment between capability investments and workforce requirements
- Accelerated stakeholder engagement and data collection under tight timeframes
- Supported delivery of phased workforce planning outputs
- Strengthened workforce readiness for future maritime operations
Overview
As part of a broader maritime capability review, ABF identified the need to modernise assets and sustain operational capability over a 10-year period. A critical component of this effort was ensuring the workforce could effectively support and crew future capability investments.
The Challenge
The ABF required a clear understanding of workforce needs to support a large-scale maritime capability uplift. Key challenges included:
- Aligning workforce capacity with future capital investments
- Identifying skill and resource requirements across a 10-year horizon
- Engaging stakeholders across geographically dispersed teams
- Delivering insights within extremely compressed timeframes
Without a structured workforce planning approach, there was a risk of capability gaps, workforce shortages, and delays in operational readiness.
The Solution
Omni provided targeted strategic workforce planning expertise to accelerate delivery and ensure alignment between workforce and capability needs.
Rapid Workforce Planning Deployment
- Embedded a specialist workforce planner within the ABF team
- Initiated project activities, including:
- Literature reviews
- Site inductions
- Early stakeholder engagement within the first week
Stakeholder Engagement & Data Collection
- Led stakeholder interviews across Australia
- Worked with internal teams to gather operational insights and workforce requirements
- Contributed to integrated planning submissions
Strategic Workforce Planning Contribution
- Supported development of a long-term workforce plan aligned with capability upgrades
- Contributed to written submissions as part of a broader workforce planning team
- Ensured workforce considerations were embedded into capability planning processes
Results & Impact
Omni’s contribution delivered measurable outcomes for the ABF:
- On-time delivery: Enabled the client to meet tight program deadlines
- Improved workforce alignment: Better visibility of workforce needs linked to capability investment
- Structured planning approach: Established a phased workforce planning model
- Enhanced decision-making: Provided data to support long-term workforce and capability decisions
The workforce planning outputs are being delivered in phases, supporting the broader rollout of maritime capability upgrades through 2025 and beyond.
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