New technologies drive changes for Information and Organisation professionals
New technologies, increasing demands to digitise records and succession planning are driving changes in the Information and Organisation occupations for library and record keeping staff, according to the latest Clarius Skills Index.
These include the rapid uptake of e-readers, smart phones and tablet computers.
The sector has shrunk dramatically over the past six months from 23,700 in the June quarter to 20,300 in September down to 13,900 in the December quarter when there was an oversupply of just 300.
Phil Desmet, Executive General Manager of The One Umbrella, which specialises in the sector, said that technology changes, retirements and increasing requirements from both the private and all levels of government, were reshaping skills requirements.
“On the records side we have a shortage of skills in archivists, records staff who have Sentencing (the process of document destruction) and Electronic Document Records Management System (EDRMS) experience for the business and government employers,” he said.
“Many organisations are, or are planning, to digitise parts of their collections to retain and preserve their corporate memory and make it easier to access electronically.
“While some employers in the libraries and records sectors are showing caution in their hiring decisions there is still continuing demand in both occupation categories.
The Clarius Skills Index is Australia’s first ever National Skills Index, published quarterly, that measures the extent of skilled labour shortages or oversupply across 20 occupation categories, using labour force data supplied by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Contact The One Umbrella for more information or access previous editions from the Clarius Skills Index Archive.