Are Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) employers getting what they want in the Northern Territory? A comparison of

employer needs and training availabilityBio(Ana)stasia Govan has consulted and worked in information, records, knowledge management and librarianship for 15 years in Australia and Asia. Ana has received many national awards from Professions Australia, academic institutions and the Australian Computer Society. Currently an Information Architect and Director of consulting firm inforg Information Solutions she is a Senior Lecturer with Charles Darwin University and teaches VET units for the Records Management Association of Australasia. She holds national board positions with Australian Computer Society and Records Management Association of Australasia. This paper covers research being undertaken as part of her Master’s degree and as recipient of the Records Management Research and Educational Grant from RMAA.

Abstract

This paper reports on the initial stage of an ongoing research project which examines the existing literature regarding employer hard and soft skill needs and initial findings of ana-lysing a small sample of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) job descrip-tions. The area of research also explores if employer expectations are being met by train-ing currently available in the Northern Territory (NT). For this paper ICT is defined in a broad sense incorporating all information and knowledge related disciplines such as In-formation Systems, Knowledge Management, Records Management, Librarianship and Archives Management based upon Cormier’s1 presumption that these fields “are becom-ing a unified discipline due to advancements in technology”.

Introduction

Existing current research upon which professional society, government, education and training provider can use during decision making processes is lacking in several areas of ICT in the Northern Territory. Two crucial gap areas have been identified from preliminary literature searches. The first is that it will provide baseline qualitative and quantitative data for the Northern Territory to identify if current employer expectations are adequately reflected in job descriptions. Secondly it will identify if there are locally available courses to meet the ICT industry needs. This research will inform current and prospective education providers of course content choice and contribute to the employability of local staff by potential employers through analysis of criteria identified in job descriptions. It will assist an Industry Training Advisory Board2 and government education agencies to identify training priorities for funding and assist professional organisations such as Australian Computer Society (ACS), Australian Library and

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Information Association (ALIA), Australian Society of Archivists (ASA) and Records Management Association of Australasia (RMAA) in guiding appropriate course recognition outcomes.

This paper reports stage 1 of the research. This stage involved questioning a small sample and a literature review to initially identify if the proposed research methodology would be appropriate in practice. Stage 2 of the research will incorporate a broader liter-ature review. Stage 3 will be the analysis of further job descriptions and Stage 4 will in-volve interviewing employers. It is envisaged the research will provide baseline data for information management related organisations such as the Records Management Associ-ation of Australasia when making course accreditation and policy decisions and build upon the current body of work that has analysed graduate expectations, graduate employ-ability, expectations of employers, hard and soft skills and professional society’s expecta-tions. This body of research work will fill the void of data upon which government, ad-visory boards, professional societies and education organisations can better align students and employers expectations.

Why the research is necessary

Availability of current baseline data in Australia (and particularly the Northern Territory) in relation to the research topic is almost non existent. In recent years the ACS has completed three Northern Territory ICT Skills surveys related to skills training and remuneration. These results have not been formally reported on. The AL IA are leading the ICT professionals in analysis of skill and education requirements. Clyde3 and Pember4

analysed job descriptions and titles in the library and recordkeeping disciplines reporting on educational requirements and the expectations of employers. A national study called neXus25 touched on skills, ageing workforce issues and remuneration across Australian libraries, including the Northern Territory. Poustie6 has also researched the topic from a librarianship perspective. Garde, Harrison and Hovenga7 analysed the health informatics professional’s preferred knowledge and skill set and published comprehensive volumes shaping the educational outcomes of future graduates.

Professional societies require data upon which to make accurate and beneficial decisions for the industry. The RMA Aand AL I A education committees continue to engage with the profession in relation to accreditation requirements, job titles, defining the profession and skills required by new graduates. The committee’s research usually cover information from employees and employers regarding training availability, skills currently acquired and remuneration but not if employer expectations identified through job description statements are being met by training available. There are no identifiable, specific research outputs or articles focusing on the Northern Territory for any of the disciplines covered by ICT (records, libraries, archives and computing). This indicates a significant gap in the current literature and dire lack of baseline data upon which professional societies such as RMAA can make decisions about the adequate levels and types of training information professionals require in the twenty-first century environment of the Northern Territory. Courses in records management are emerging as a graduate course with library, archives and information technology intertwined, making this data crucial as an underlying decision making tool.

There are no current studies for government agencies to make decisions on funding priorities for building social capital. This is particularly crucial for truly remote areas of Australia such as the Northern Territory who often have very different issues surrounding supply and education of the labour force. Prior to 2008, Australian federal government agencies engaged researchers to answer the question: is higher education and vocational training meeting employer expectations? There are no current studies identified although Service Industries Training Advisory Council (SITAC), although the organisation is

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currently undertaking a national review of the ICT training package. Several authors such as Barrie8 focused on student expectations and discuss the linkage betweencourses and defined graduate attributes. In 2007 the Business, Industry and Higher Education Collaboration Council9 undertook studies regarding if new graduates meet employers expectations. It is a requirement of Australian universities such as Charles Darwin University and Monash University10 to undertake annual employability studies by canvassing students and employers regarding skills fit, time between studying and finding employment and education offerings. Recent studies for government undertaken by organisations such as NCVER11 and DEST12 are often related to vocational education and training, with higher education skill requirements not a focus of large volumes of research since the 2002 ‘Employability Skills for the Future’ research paper was published.

In 2005DCITA13 identified that “there has been comparatively little research in Australia of the actual and potential use of ICT as an enabler of community and social capability”. In 2007 Precision Consulting completed one of the most current government contracted research papers relating to employers, graduates and higher education14. They covered the area of “cultural fit” of the graduate as an important emerging aspect of what employers want and that this can be facilitated by taking on graduates in a cadetship program. In 2008 Nagarajan15 stated in more recent research that “Understanding and studying the lived experiences of IT [computing] graduates at work has been given little or no attention”.16 Nagarajan explored how employers and graduates see the importance of a higher or vocational qualification in relation to job readiness, providing a current baseline of data. Similarly, Nettleton17 has covered the role of professional societies in aligning employers and employees expectations and soft and hard skill mixes through analysis of accreditation of academic programs in Australian universities.

Research into using ICT as an enabler has progressed in Australia in the last twelve months. Many papers at the Higher Education Research and Development (HERDSA) conference in Darwin in 200918 and the November 2009 Australian Learning and

Teaching Council (ALTC) WAND program for Western Australian academics19

demonstrated several examples of how ICT is being used in the teaching of students and peer review.

Theoretical framework

ICT is defined by technologists in the public interest20 as “the study or business of developing and using technology to process information and communications”. Training is the underpinning component of professionalism and to developing and contributing to the economic viability of industry, communities and individuals, particularly in remote centres. This contributes in turn to social capital and increasing gross domestic product of a nation so we hope that the people available and required in the Northern Territory in the ICT industry meet the hard and soft skill expectations of potential employers as defined by job descriptions.

Generally the ACS, the Australian Information Industries Association of Australia (AIIA), the AL IA, RMA A, the Institute of Information Management (IIM) and AS A represent the expectations of the ICT industry sectors in Australia. These bodies also define requirements through course accreditation and by documenting the required core body of knowledge for a person working in ICT.

In the state and federal sphere the Industry Training Advisory Board sets out vocational training attributes and higher education institutions, define graduate attributes. In both

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vocational training and higher education sectors the attributes are based upon industry representation and therefore employer expectations of potential employee hard and soft skills. The employer expectations are hopefully accurately embodied in job descriptions. The ‘perfect’ job is the selling tool for the educational institution and end product of attributes and accreditation programs.

The research could be seen as an integrated approach is it will cover independent, moderating, dependent and intervening variables. It will also review the interrelated complexities contributing to employer needs of ICT graduates such as the roles and requirements of industry groups, employers, training organisations, educational institutions, accreditation and graduate attributes.

Other crucial concepts

Expected potential employability skills can be defined by sub categories such as hard and soft skills. The Australian government identifies eight employability skills covered by these areas. These include communication, teamwork, problem solving, self-management, planning and organisation, technology, life-long learning and initiative and enterprise21. Muchinsky breaks up skills of employees into three categories defining overall groupings for further sub categories identified by the Karpin Report.22

Muchinsky23 identifies technical attributes as expertise in operational procedures such as web design and displaying professional body of knowledge; conceptual attributes as general intelligence and cognitive ability; and interpersonal skills as persuading, building relationships, self awareness, control and sensitivity to the needs of others.

Social capital in education and ICT are related theoretical perspectives to the current re -search. Social capital is defined by the OECD as “networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate cooperation within or among groups”.24 Several government research papers by leading agencies such as Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), National Office of the Information Economy (NOIE) and Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have identified factors realting to ICT (the hardware and software as opposed to the acronym as a reference to the professional areas it covers) as having the potential to develop and enhance community well being, trust (social and transactional), reciprocity the enabler of community and social capabil-ity, aiding social cohesion and building regional information economies.25

Description of the research methodology

In order to obtain the quality of data required to achieve the research objective a mixed methodology of qualitative and quantitative methods will be undertaken. Robson26 argues that a qualitative account can be enhanced by quantitative evidence by clarifying the research outcomes. Content and grounded theory approaches have been used in previous research of the analysis of job descriptions pertaining to librarianship27 and records management28 and will be the methodologies applied for the current research.

Qualitative data will be obtained by interviews with relevant stakeholders such as employers (up to five from library, recordkeeping and computing sectors). As the research expands in future years it is anticipated that data will be gathered from students and representatives from professional organisations (the local Northern Territory boards

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of ALIA, ACS and RMA A), education organisations (such as Charles Darwin University) and the IT Training Advisory Board of the Northern.

Employers targeted for interview will be identified by job advertisements in the NT News Saturday editions over a period of four months. Job advertisements are also used by De-partment of Education, Science and Training (DEST) to identify official job shortage dis-ciplines in the Northern Territory. DEST gathers information on:

vacancy numbers and duration of vacancy for this occupation/s;

the number of businesses having difficulties in recruiting to this occupation/s;

1 Cormier, P. (2005). Information management as a unified discipline. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http://imbok.blogspot.com/2005/12/information-management-as-unified.html 2 See definition for this board which can be state or federal at http://www.tafe.qld.gov.au/tools/glossary/glossary_i.html#industry_training_advisory_body3 Clyde, L.A. (2005). An instructional role for librarians: An overview and content analysis of IFLA2005. DivV11 Page 16/166. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla71/Programme.htm

4 Pember, M. (2005). What employers really want when recruiting recordkeeping practitioners: Expectations in the Western Australian state sector. Archives and Manuscripts, 33 (2): 130-159. and Permber, M. (2003). Content analysis of recordkeeping job advertisements in Western Australia: Knowledge and skills required by employers. Australian Academic and Research Libraries, 34(3): 194-210.5 Hallam, G.C. (2008). Nexus: An investigation into the library and information services workforce in Australia. Final report. Canberra: ALIA & NSLARetrieved January 4 2010, from http://www.alia.org.au/employment/workforce/neXus2_FinalReport1.pdf 6 Poustie, K. (2002), Whither Australian public libraries: ALIA Conference 2000 Proceedings [Online]. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http://conferences.alia.org.au/alia2000/proceedings/kay.poustie.html 7 Garde, S.; Harriosn, D., & Hovenga, E. (2005). Australian skill needs analysis of health informatics professionals. Volume 1:Rational and methods, key findings and conclusions. Rockhampton, Queensland: Central Queensland University.

8 Barrie, S.C. (2004). A research-based approach to generic graduate attributes policy. Higher Education Research & Development. 23(3): 261-276.

9 Business, Industry and Higher Education Collaboration Council (BIHECC). (2007). Graduate employabil-ity skills report. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http://www.dest.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/E58EFDBE-BA83-430E-A541-2E91BCB59DF1/20214/GraduateEmployabilitySkillsFINALREPORT1.pdf

10 Monash University, Centre for Higher Education Quality. (2007). Employer survey 2007, Part 1: Aus-tralian based employers summary report. 11 http://www.ncver.edu.au/

12 Department of Education and Training (DEST). (2002). Employability skills for the future. Common-wealth of Australia, Canberra.

13 Department of Information, Communications and the Arts. (2005). The role of ICT in building

communities and social capital: A discussion paper (p. 7).. Canberra: Department of Information, Commu-nications and the Arts.

14 Precision Consulting. (2007). Graduate Employability Skills. Melbourne:Precision Consulting15 Nagarajan, S.V., & Edwards, J. (2008). Towards understanding non-technical work experiences of recent Australian information technology graduates (p. 104). In Proceedings of the Tenth Australasian Computing Education Conference ACE 2008, Wollongong, Australia, 78, CRPIT, Australian Computer Society. Also available at http://crpit.com/confpapers/CRPITV78Nagarajan.pdf

16 Nagarajan, S. V. & Edwards, J. (2009). The relevance of university degrees for developing work-ready information technology graduates (pp. 314-323). In The Student Experience, Proceedings of the 32nd

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what type/s of advertising has been undertaken (newspaper, internet, etc, na-tional, local etc);

how many times has the vacancy been advertised and what has the response

numbers, and of suitability of applicants (what proportion);

what are the issues/factors surrounding recruitment to the occupation/s; and

difficulty recruiting to the occupation/s in other states.

Librarians, Library technicians and ICT professionals (covering various specialisations) are listed in the 2010 NT job shortage lists. Other disciplines of ICT such as records management and archivists are not listed at all, even on the list identifying areas raised but not included.29 Anecdotal evidence from ICT consultants in the Northern Territory indicate that recordkeeping as a discipline is in dire need of skilled and educated workers.

A literature review will help to form appropriate survey questions and provide a research base upon which to compare and contrast current findings. The interview questions identified by Jennings30 will be used as a basis for a questionnaire to be provided to employers (Appendix three) as a follow-up interview after assessment of the advertised position. Northern Territory members of ALIA, ACS and RMAA will be approached for

HERDSA Annual Conference, Darwin, 6-9 July 2009. Retrieved January 4 2010, from http://www.herdsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/conference/2009/papers/HERDSA2009_Nagarajan_S.pdf

17 Nettleton, S., Litchfield, A., & Taylor, T. (2008). Engaging professional societies in developing work-ready graduates (pp. 241-251). Proceedings of the 31st Annual International HERDSA Conference, 1-4 July, Rotorua, New Zealand. Retrieved January 4 2010, from http://www.herdsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/conference/2008/media/Nettleton.pdf18 http://conference.herdsa.org.au/2009/19 http://otl.curtin.edu.au/scholarship_teaching_learning/altc_wand/program.cfm20 Australian Computer Society. (2006). Technologists in the public interest. Volumes I and II. Sydney: Australian Computer Society. p. vi Retrieved January 4 2010, from http://www.acs.org.au/attachments/TIPI_National_Statement.pdf

Australian Council for Educational Research. (2001). Employability skills for Australian industry: Literat-ure review and framework development. Melbourne: ACER.21 Department of Education and Training (DEST). (2002). Op Cit.22 Karpin D. (1995). Enterprising nation: Renewing Australia’s managers to meet the challenges of the Asia Pacific century: Report of the Industry Task Force on Leadership and Management Skills. Canberra: AGPS.

23 Muchinsky, P. M. (2000). Psychology applied to work: An introduction to industrial and organizational psychology.(6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomas Learning. 24 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2001). The well-being of nations: The role of human and social capital. Paris: OECD.25 Bandias, S. (2008). The role of telecommunications in the sustainable development of rural and remote communities in the Northern Territory. Darwin, NT: Charles Darwin University. Unpublished PhD thesis.26 Robson, C. (2002). Real world research: A resource for social scientist and practitioners – researchers. (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.27 Clyde, L.A. (2005). op cit.28 Pember, M. (2005). op cit.29 NT OCCUPATION SHORTAGE LIST REVIEW 2010 http://www.nt.gov.au/dbe/employment/workforce_nt/docs/Shortage_List_2010_Review.pdf

30 Jennings, C et, al. (2006). Attributes challenge questionnaire. University of Wollongong: Wollongong. http://www.uow.edu.au/careers/discover/TEC/2006/Law.pdf. (Last accessed 04/11/2009).

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participation in the research. Education and training organisations will be made aware of the research and asked for comment. This approach has been identified by Creswell31 as a plausible research method. Using mixed methodology is becoming more frequent32 and has the advantages of identifying different paradigms, reducing the likelihood of confounding findings and permitting triangulation, increased reliability of findings through divergent results and testing validity.33

Preliminary case study - findings

An analysis of a small sample of job descriptions and relevant literature was undertaken. At this early stage the goal was not to inform in relation to the stated research questions and variables under investigation but to test and shape the validity of the stated research methodology and start to explore the intricacies of the complex, interwoven variables through job descriptions and available literature.

Between the 14 November and 2 December there were twelve ICT positions advertised by the Northern Territory News across the university and government sectors. There were no advertised positions for the private sector. Three were related to libraries, one to records management and seven to information technology. All positions advertised were for employment in Darwin. Darwin centric positions and a skew towards public sector employment are items for further analysis during interviews and further literature reviews but could indicate important planning ramifications for education and employment stakeholders. The Northern Territory Government has just released its 2030 planning strategy with related topics from it requiring further validation from the research:

Increase the number of Territorians participating in adult education

The Territory will have a highly-skilled and stable education workforce, home-grown as much as possible

The Territory is recognised as a world leader in providing education and training in remote settings, built around evidence-based practice and maximising the innovative use of information and communication technology.

By 2015, government expenditure on research and development, as a proportion of Gross State Product (GSP), will match or exceed investment compared to the other states and territories.

Increase the number of Territorians working in the creative industries so that it is the highest participation rate in Australia.

Establish the Territory as a major centre for creative industries.

Territorians in major towns and communities will have access to high-speed broadband and the internet on the same terms as the rest of Australia as a mat-ter of priority.

Territory businesses will be using information communications technology at a rate that is higher than the national average.

31 Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Thou-sand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.32 Santa, R. et al. (2009). The necessary alignment between technology innovation effectiveness and operational effectiveness. J ournal of Management and Organization , 15(2): 155-169.33 Robson, C. (2002). Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers. (2nd ed.)., Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishers.; Begley, C.M. (1996). Using triangulation in nursing research. Journal of Advanced Nursing 24(1): 122-28; Sarantakos, S.(2005). Social research. (3rd ed. ). Palgrave: Macmillan:

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By 2012, all Territory businesses in main urban centres have access to high-speed broadband on the same terms as all Australian businesses34

Other than two business analyst positions, all job titles varied significantly from Director to Library Technician. Manager appeared in the title of five of the twelve positions. When compared to the ACS TIPI proposed job naming and competency framework (Appendix 1) the job titles are strewn across four of the seven categories and do not discretely fit into one based upon analysis of the requirements within the job descriptions. The four relevant categories are business technologies (i.e. business analyst), media technologist (i.e. web), software technologies (i.e. programmer) and systems technologist (ie systems administrator). RMAA currently does not have job title identification – this research will endeavour to fill such a gap. The ALIA has three identified titles (Librarian, Library Technician and Library Assistant). In the preliminary findings the limited job description title of ‘Library Technician’ conformed to ALIA’s recognised differentiation of professionals (Librarian, Teacher Librarian, Library Technician or Library Assistant)35

but the 2008 study of library employment by Hallam36 indicated many further job titles, indicating that a remaping of job titles may need to be considered by ALIA.

Tertiary qualifications were requested in all positions advertised. Technical, specific software knowledge was requested for four of the twelve positions. Two positions advertised requested postgraduate qualifications and were both for employment at Charles Darwin University. The stipulation of tertiary qualifications is a significant increase on the 38% of advertisements requesting tertiary qualifications reported by a very similar study in Western Australia in 2005.37

Those stating degree levels as a requirement identified a variety of qualification titles such as Library Science, Information Management, Information Technology, Health Informatics, Computing, Information Systems, Creative Arts, New Media. A common naming critique, analogous to that of the ACS, will be further investigated as the research is continued. None of the job descriptions requested professional membership of any of the ICT industry associations. The Library Technician position could be an exception to this but the full job description was not available at the time of writing to confirm this. The 2005 Western Australian research by Pember38 indicated “a disappointingly small percentage, 5.1 per cent (4 out of 79), of the positions advertised required eligibility for professional membership of the RMAA” and compared the findings to library positions were eligibility for membership of ALIA is often clearly stated and vigorously insisted by local professionals.

There is currently no Northern Territory based training organisations that offer a qualification matching Library Science or Health Informatics. Charles Darwin University does offer a Certificate III and IV and a Diploma in Library/Information Services. The University also offers a Graduate Diploma of Information and Knowledge Management and several qualifications ranging from Certificate III to Masters in Information Technology and Network Engineering (but none titled Computing or Information Systems). The university also offers a Bachelor of Creative Arts and Industries (New Media Design) and several qualifications ranging from Certificate I to Doctor of Philosophy in Visual Arts, Contemporary Craft, Arts and Media Design. Health Informatics is taught as one unit in the Graduate Diploma of Information and Knowledge Management but no full course is offered. Anecdotal evidence based on 10 years of 34 http://www.territory2030.nt.gov.au/doc/T2030_Strategic_Plan.pdf35 http://www.alia.org.au/education/qualifications/36 Hallam, G.C. (2008). op cit.37 Pember. M. (2003). op cit.38 Pember, M. (2003). op cit.

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teaching vocational education training (VET) and higher education in Darwin by the author is that local students will study Library Science at a Bachelor level externally through Edith Cowan University or Charles Sturt University and undertake Library Technician qualifications through Capper Ryan. Records Management as part of the Business Services package is offered at Cert III level through Charles Darwin University and other level units (Certificate III, IV and Diploma) through RMAA.

The higher the level of the job advertised in the sample, the less technical skills and more hard and soft skills were requested. No formal technical certifications such as Microsoft Certified Software Engineer (mcse) were requested – technical requirements such as TRIM (records management software application commonly used by the government sector), Oracle (database platform) and ITIL (documented best practice IT service management) were phrased as ‘demonstrated work experience’ requirements. Prince 2 was requested for one position and Certificate IV in workplace training requested in two instances. Project management skills were requested in eight of the twelve positions as essential selection criteria. The consistently high number of job descriptions across all areas of ICT and all levels that requested project management skills was a surprise to the researcher. It was the only consistent knowledge, skill or value identified in the majority of the sample. This has led to the inclusion of analysis of project management training availability along with computing, records, librarianship and archives to the analysis. This is a new criteria not listed in previous similar studies39 and begs further investigation of whether this job description criteria is a very new need of employers and if it is being adequately met by local training. It may not be adequately incorporated into existing higher education courses as often accreditation packages and the ability to provide subjects in a timely manner cannot be met by educational providers and professional societies. There is the ability to meet the need with existing certificate, diploma and advanced diploma courses in project management from internal and external sources to the Northern Territory.

ISO/AS 15489 on Recordkeeping40 states that recordkeeping is the responsibility of all staff, not just records managers. This reflects the notion that employees and employers are knowledge workers – constantly manipulating information and data to make strategic decisions. There are sixty-two Registered Training Organisations (RTO’s) in the Northern Territory. Whilst many provide computing, information and records management training as part of delivering the business and IT packages, only one provides the business (recordkeeping) certificate. None provide library studies, ten provide certificate IV in workplace training and two provide Certificate IV or Diploma in Project Management. This provides an avenue for further investigation of why so many organisations in the Northern Territory are providing the same units and electives and course titles, with the same content (including generic information literacy, records management and computing components) but not differentiating themselves in the market by providing specific VET package qualifications (such as the recordkeeping modules) in areas requested on job descriptions.

Other training providers that are not higher education, VET or RTO’s were identified by checking the yellow pages and a Google search. Out of six technology and project management training companies, Crimson Training was the only organisation identified

39 Pember, M. (2003). op cit. and Clyde, L.A. (2005). op cit.40 International Organization for Standardization. (2001). Information and Documentation―Records Management―Part 1: General (ISO 15489―1). Part 2: Record Management―Guidelines (ISO 1548―-2) Geneva: ISO.

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as offering a variety of technical computing certifications (such as MCSE) as identified in the job descriptions of the current sample.

There has been much research relating to graduate attributes. It is impossible to map job description requirements to the vocational education and training graduate attributes due to their generic descriptions. For example, Charles Darwin University states that the institutions VET graduate’s have personal practical knowledge in “Technical skills that contribute to effective execution of tasks”41. The Charles Darwin University Higher Education graduate attributes are far more specific,42 therefore enabling a comparison with job descriptions.

Employers expectations or needs are captured currently by a variety of methods. These methods include:

Incorporation at accreditation meetings at educational institutions by professional societies

Representation on Innovation and Business Skills Australia Industry Skills Council (Leading to business package development for provision to Registered Training Organisations)

Board positions for professional societies

Job descriptions.

Most of the current research looks at developing course content to meet employers expectations based on accreditation and industry skills meetings and surveying of employers and graduates. There is no comparable detailed resource in Australia to the American O*NET resource center,43 although Monash University does use and report on the data in research comparisons of Australia44. This comprehensive website lists job titles, education required, studies needed to enter education institutions required tasks, tools and technology, related areas of employment, salary range, expected job prospects, soft skills, knowledge etc. and will be referred to in final research stages.

ALIA has indicated that since 2006 they have focused on educators not employers through the accreditation process.45 The stated goal is:

to foster excellence in the provision of education for the Australian library and information services sector and to ensure that all students undertaking a course experience a quality program, with an appropriate curriculum delivered effectively and supported by the required resources.46

41 http://www.cdu.edu.au/graduateattributes/employabilityskills.html42 http://www.cdu.edu.au/graduateattributes/index.html See also Appendix 2

43 Occupational Information Network, O*NET Consortium (2009). O*NET data collection. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from htps://onet.rti.org

44 Esposto, A and Meagher, G. (2006). The future demand for employability skills andthe implications for the VET system. Unpubished paper by Monash University available at http://avetra.org.au/documents/12-Esposto.pdf45 Hallam, G.C., Walton-Sonda, D., & Genoni, P. (2009). Aligning policy with practice: An evaluation of vocational education and training in the library and information services sector. Paper presented 12th Annual Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association Conference, Aligning participants, policy and pedagogy : Traction and tensions in VET research, 16-17 April 2009, Sydney. (Unpublished). http://www.avetra.org.au/papers-2009/papers/78.00.pdf46 http://www.alia.org.au/education/courses/criteria.html, Precision Consultancy (2007) Graduate employability skills Canberra: DEST47 http://www.alia.org.au/policies/core.knowledge.html48http://www.rmaa.com.au/docs/profdev/RMAA%20ASA%202006%20Statement%20of%20Knowledge.pdf

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The peak industry bodies such as RMAA, ACS, ALIA, ASA, currently meet to discuss accreditation and other employer to employee mapping strategies and have memoranda of understanding recognising the increasing coherence of the disciplines within the industry. Research to date has not mapped job descriptions with a follow-up interview of employers to identify if job descriptions adequately reflect employers. Through this mechanism the rise of open membership categories within some of these professions could be explored in further research. A recent meeting of the Australian Computer Society National Congress identified a lack of research available upon which to make adequate decisions regarding membership categories. The rise or not in ICT professions of open membership categories has implications for those trying to identify what is or is not a professional in a specific profession and may change the dependence from education based training to hard and soft skills required for roles.

As a result of the content analysis of the small sample of job descriptions and a limited literature review that make up stage 1 of this research project the following will be considered for inclusion into stages 2-4 of the study;

Consider comparison of job descriptions requirements to Core bodies of knowledge for ALIA47, RMAA48, ASA49 and ACS50

Continue updating industry on research progress by providing conference papers and refereed journal articles, round tables to continually inform the current research and keep it ‘current’ and ‘intouch’

Identify if any commonality in job titles to inform professional societies of common definitions

Compare of higher education graduate attributes to the criteria stated in the sample job descriptions

Exploring professional society certifications of courses compared to employer needs as stated in job descriptions

49http://www.archivists.org.au/files/Education/Statement_of_Knowledge_for_Recordkeeping_Professionals_version_1.0_29March2006_ASA.doc50 https://www.acs.org.au/attachments/ACSCBOKWorkingPaper2008.pdf

Appendix 1: ACS TIPI categorsiations of job titles turn sideways

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Assessing if the National Quality Indicators for vocational education match employer expectations based on job descriptions

Inviting comment from industry and individuals on the shaping of future research

Conclusion

As the traditional boundaries of the professional sectors of library, records, archives and computing continue to merge it is crucial that current, accurate baseline data for Australia in relation to employer expectations and related localised training availability is studied. First as a baseline and then embodied by particularly the professional societies and training and education organisations as an annual update.

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This paper indicates a possible preliminary methodology that can be adjusted accordingly based further application of the methodology. The current research will continue to build upon the foundation of research by professional societies, and education agencies, including government public service, universities, VET and RTOs and provide critical current data to the Department of Education, professional societies and education providers. Such data has been severely lacking since 2005 and arguably has never existed in the Northern Territory.

Appendix 2: Charles Darwin University VET and HE graduate attributesRetrieved December 30, 2009, from http://www.cdu.edu.au/graduateattributes/index.html

CDU Core Attribute Generic Attribute DescriptorRelationship to Nationally Identified Employability Skill

A CDU Graduate: A CDU Graduate has:

Personal Practical KnowledgeAcquisitionCan identify, retrieve, evaluate and use relevant information and current technologies to advance learning and execute of work tasksTechnology skills that contribute to effective execution of tasks

ApplicationIs an efficient and innovative project planner and problem solver, capable of applying logical and critical thinking to problems across a range of disciplinary settings and has self-management skills that contribute to personal satisfaction and growthProblem-solving skills that contribute to effective outcomes

Planning and organizing skills that contribute to productive outcomes

Self-management skills that contribute to employee satisfaction and growth

CreativityCan conceive of imaginative and innovative responses to future orientated challenges and research.Initiative and enterprise skills that contribute to innovative outcomes

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Endnotes

Knowledge baseHas an understanding of the broad theoretical and technical concepts related to their discipline area, with relevant connections to industry, professional, and regional and indigenous knowledgeLearning skills that contribute to ongoing improvement and expansion in employee and company operations and outcomes

CitizenshipCommunicationDemonstrates oral, written, and effective listening skills as well as numerical, technical and graphic communication skills in a cross generational environmentCommunication skills that contribute to productive and harmonious relations between employees and customers

TeamworkHas a capacity for and understanding of collaboration and co-operation within agreed frameworks, including the demands of inter-generational tolerance, mutual respect for others, conflict resolution and the negotiation of productive outcomesTeam work skills that contribute to productive working relationships and outcomes

Social responsibility Is able to apply equity values, and has a sense of social responsibility, sustainability, and sensitivity to other peoples, cultures and the environment

World View FlexibilityCan function effectively and constructively in an inter-cultural or global environment and in a variety of complex situations

LeadershipCan exercise initiative and responsibility, taking action and engaging others to make a positive difference for the common good

Appendix 3: Employer questionnaire

1. Position advertised: (Attach job descriptions and advertisement)2. Name of Organization:3. Name of Interviewee:4. Date of advertisement, job descriptions, position filled and interview/survey date5. What is your role in the organization?6. What has your involvement in the recruitment of the advertised position been?7. 3. If you had the ideal employee, what are the top 5 most valuable skills that they

would possess?

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8. *Show graduate attributes on individual flash cards*9. These are the Charles Darwin University Graduate Attributes and Employability

skills. Based on the needs of your organization, please rank them in order of im-portance for the advertised position

10. Looking at the top three of the ranked graduate attributes – why are these so im-portant to your organization?

11. Looking at the bottom three of the ranked graduate attributes – why have they been ranked in this way?

12. Which of the graduate attributes are included in the job descriptions? Which of the graduate attributes are included in the advertisement? Why or why not?

13. Looking at the graduate attributes as a whole – how applicable are they to the in-formation industry?

14. Can you recommend any improvements to the list of graduate attributes?15. Do you have a standardized list of selection requirements? If so, would it be pos-

sible to please have a copy, or alternatively, a summary of that list?16. Has the position been filled? If so how does the candidate rate on each of the se-

lection criteria, graduate attributes and employability skills – Lickert scale 1 to 5.a. 5 = Great attribute fit to criteriab. 4 = Needs some attribute improvement to fit criteriac. 3 = d. 2 = Needs a lot of attribute improvement to fit job descriptionse. 1 = Candidate not fit job descriptions at all

17. Will you be using the same job descriptions again without changes?

Derived from : Jennings, C et, al. (2006). Attributes challenge questionnaire. University of Wollongong: Wollongong. http://www.uow.edu.au/careers/discover/TEC/2006/Law.pdf. (Last accessed 04/11/2009).

Precision Consultancy (2006) Employability skills Canberra: DEST

Precision Consultancy (2007) Graduate employability skills Canberra: DEST47 http://www.alia.org.au/policies/core.knowledge.html48http://www.rmaa.com.au/docs/profdev/RMAA%20ASA%202006%20Statement%20of%20Knowledge.pdf49 http://www.archivists.org.au/files/Education/Statement_of_Knowledge_for_Recordkeeping_Professionals_version_1.0_29March2006_ASA.doc50 https://www.acs.org.au/attachments/ACSCBOKWorkingPaper2008.pdf

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