SSA Feedback on the Victorian ICT Workforce Development Plan Page 1 of 8
About Service Skills Australia Service Skills Australia is the Industry Skills Council for the service industries, one of 11 not-for-profit, independent organisations funded by the Australian Government Department of Industry to support skills and workforce development. The service industries encompass the following sectors: Wholesale, Retail and Personal Services (wholesale, retail, hairdressing, beauty, floristry, community pharmacy and funeral services) Tourism, Travel and Hospitality (travel, tourism, meeting and events, accommodation, restaurants and catering, holiday parks and resorts) Sport, Fitness and Recreation (sport, fitness, community recreation and outdoor recreation). Service Skills Australia s role and responsibilities are to: 1. Provide integrated industry intelligence and advice to government, the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency, industry and enterprises on workforce development and skills needs for the service industries. 2. Actively support the development, implementation and continuous improvement of high quality training products for the service industries, including training packages. 3. Engage in workforce development activities and services for the service industries.
Introduction Service Skills Australia thanks the ICT Skills Subcommittee for the opportunity to make comment on the Victorian ICT Workforce Development Plan. It is commendable that action is being taken to ensure that the Victorian economy has access to highly skilled ICT workers and to ensure that all businesses are achieving their potential through the intelligent use of ICT. It is the strong belief of Service Skills Australia that workforce planning is an essential component to achieving any economic strategy. The acknowledgement that ICT skills are needed right across a range of industries has come at a time when this need for the service industries is becoming acute. Coupled with our extensive involvement in devising workforce development strategies, we felt it was therefore appropriate to make comment. In doing so, we hope to offer a greater level of insight on these issues from the perspective of the service industries and to provide advice from our experience where it is relevant. We have also extended the offer for the subcommittee to consider ways in which Service Skills Australia, and perhaps other Industry Skills Councils, may assist in achieving some of the actions contained within the plan. To assist in reading this document, we have provided feedback systematically alongside each relevant action item under the three areas. We would welcome any further discussions with the subcommittee, should it be required. Overcome misconceptions and increase awareness of ICT careers and study Action: Develop, through the Victorian Committee, a package of ICT career and course awareness activities targeting students and their influencers. The retail industry has been noted as one of the many industries that are increasingly employing ICT workers, which is broadening the careers available to those with these skills. The Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency notes in its forthcoming report that the retail industry is increasingly employing the following ICT-specific roles: Online Category Manager Mobile Commerce Designer Consumer Relationship Manager Analyst Data Analyst User Experience Designer User Experience Researcher Software Development Engineer ICT Sales Assistant Subsequently, we recommend that, when promoting the range of ICT careers available, that the significant opportunities within the retail industry are also highlighted. Furthermore, we believe another key consideration when developing a careers and course awareness program is that the target audience should not solely focus on young people. Given the emerging norm of multiple career changes throughout a person s life,
and the ageing Australian population, we suggest that equal emphasis also be placed on attracting people of all ages into ICT careers. Action: Industry to develop and lead a public campaign to improve understanding of ICT, explaining the importance of ICT in business. and Action: Generate case studies /guidelines on best practice ICT employment. Service Skills Australia (SSA) recommends that Industry Skills Councils (ISCs), through their constant engagement with industry, are a good source of case studies to highlight best practice ICT employment and are well-placed to coordinate industry-specific campaigns to explain the importance of ICT in business. Additionally, involving ISCs would ensure a widespread and diverse coverage of industries. Finally, we recommend that the sub-committee consider incorporating the different career development approaches available for ICT in these case studies. Optimise the contribution ICT offers to business Action: Develop a business leaders education program to offer SME businesses practical advice on how to apply ICT to transform business performance SSA commends the proposed initiative to develop a business leader s education program that is focussed on SMEs. There is a considerable amount of research to suggest that small business require support in this area. Our consultation across the service industries has identified the following ICT skills needs: Developing and maintaining a website Developing mobile-enabled websites and apps Maximising the capability and functionality of websites (making bookings/ purchases, displaying availability and prices) Search engine optimisation for websites Data analytics Online product distribution Managing online consumer reviews (both in terms of customer relationship management and staff performance management) Managing the appropriate and effective use of social media Customer service in the context of e-commerce Developing digital marketing strategies Evidence of these needs can be seen in more detail through the following examples from the service industries. In 2013, a survey was conducted to determine the digital uptake of businesses in the tourism industry. The survey found that:
66 per cent of businesses in the dining sector had their own website. 52.8 per cent of tourism businesses had a website that provided regularly updated information for availability and price. 66.1 per cent of tourism businesses had a website that allows for online payment. 63.7 per cent of tourism businesses had a website that allows for instant online booking and confirmation. 1 Whilst this illustrates there are a large number of tourism and hospitality businesses already engaging with ICT, it is clear that there remains significant room for improvement in digital uptake. It is crucial that the operators are equipped with the skills to effectively utilise these tools as they are crucial to a successful business. Beyond e-commerce, the tourism and hospitality industries are particularly grappling with the new and heightened forms of public relations required with the advent of online consumer reviews, such as those found on Tripadvisor and Eatability. Within the sport, fitness and recreation industry, clubs need to leverage new technologies to attract and retain members and volunteers particularly those who are younger. While some clubs are already successfully doing this, industry has indicated that large numbers of both paid staff and volunteers lack the requisite digital literacy skills to ensure widescale adoption. The Australian Sports Commission has also identified the need for capacity building in using social media to promote sports and leverage commercial opportunities, as well as using IT-based customer management systems to understand and support their participation base. In the fitness industry the need to adopt ICT has become more pronounced as a range of fitness apps have come onto the market. As a result, many health and fitness facilities are developing their own apps for their members with features such as fitness advice, class timetables, personalised encouragement messages and live streaming of classes. Additionally, a greater number of freelance fitness professionals are engaging with social media as a cheap and efficient platform to market their services broadly. Finally, in the retail industry, technology is substantially changing traditional methods of business through online retailing and mcommerce, digital marketing, the collection of consumer data, and the integration of advanced technologies in the supply chain. It is virtually universally recognised that this is the way forward for the industry, yet at the most basic level, only 44% of retailers have an online presence. 2 In order to address these needs, several programs, beyond accredited training, have been developed by government and industry. In the tourism and hospitality industry, Restaurant and Catering Australia received funding to develop a digital business kit for the restaurant and catering sector, containing a guide and case studies, and Austrade has developed a Tourism e-kit program, which includes 54 tutorials covering online marketing, developing a good website, search engine optimisation and online product 1 Mistilis N. and Gretzel U., 2013, Tourism Operator s Digital Uptake Benchmark Survey 2013 Research Report, prepared for Tourism Research Australia, tra.gov.au/documents/tourism_operators_survey.pdf 2 ABS, 2012, Summary of IT Use and Innovation in Australian Business, 2010 11, Cat. no. 8166.0.
distribution. In the retail industry, the National Retail Association, with funding from the Australian Government, developed resources to assist retailers to understand and make use of new technologies and high-speed broadband. In order to avoid the duplication of effort, SSA suggests that the ICT Workforce Development sub-committee consider investigating the principles of these and other existing or past initiatives when developing their education program. Given the focus of the education program on SMEs, we would also like to note some key lessons SSA has gained through its engagement with businesses of this size. In order to successfully engage SMEs in training, it is crucial that barriers to participation are reduced, such as the financial contribution or the administration involved. Feedback from RTOs who work with this sector also stress the time constraints experienced by owners and managers of SMEs, and as such, it is important to attempt to deliver training flexibly or in short blocks that are not overly onerous on the participant s time. Action: Improve ability of business to conduct ICT workforce planning, leveraging the National Workforce Development Fund Service Skills Australia concurs that the NWDF would be an ideal program with which to up-skill businesses in ICT capacity. The program s design principles in that it is enterprise-led, and requires a financial co-contribution and a workforce development plan ensure that the training is targeted, has articulated benefits for the business and engenders strong commitment from the business. SSA s existing brokerage of the NWDF has already led to businesses up-skilling their staff ICT skills, among a variety of other disciplines. For example, the South Australian Tourism Industry Council (SATIC) worked with SSA and the NWDF to provide a Certificate IV in Frontline Management to 22 small businesses across South Australia, in which online commerce and social media was a key component. 3 Analysis of a sample of service industry workforce plans submitted for the NWDF also revealed that 14% of the employers identified the need to enter or expand on their engagement with online technologies, particularly social media. Interestingly, this was particularly a priority for businesses in Tourism, Travel & Hospitality (26%) and Sports, Fitness & Recreation (26%) rather than for those from Wholesale, Retail and Personal Services industries (5.6%). References to online technologies in workforce plans were also more likely to come from large employers (27%) followed by small employers (16%), and medium employers only (8.8%). 4 A valuable addition to the NWDF program has been the diagnostic tool developed for the Workforce Futures program, which assists businesses to devise their workforce plan. Service Skills Australia recommends that the sub-committee consider leveraging this diagnostic tool for the purpose of this action. In addition to considerably easing the process of workforce planning for businesses, the tool also has the benefit of building a comprehensive database. The aggregation of this data will allow for a better 3 This case study and others can be downloaded at serviceskills.com.au/workforce-developmentin-action-case-studies. 4 Harris, C., unpublished, National Workforce Development Fund: Coding Project, report prepared for Service Skills Australia.
understanding of the needs of businesses in this area, thereby improving future targeted strategies. Similarly, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has developed a simple web-based tool that provides a guide for businesses to create a workforce development plan. 5 Improve the alignment between businesses and ICT Action: Support education providers and industry to integrate ICT content into non-ict disciplines, including business studies and the sciences SSA noted the assertion in the strategy that TAFEs and universities can collaborate with industry to create these opportunities as well as involving industry more in developing and delivering ICT course content. 6 We concur that this is an important aim; however, the role of ISCs to connect industry with training through the development of training packages should be noted. Given that training packages underpin most courses delivered in the vocational education and training sector, we expect the lack of industry involvement to largely relate to courses delivered within higher education. However, should greater industry involvement be desired in vocational education courses, engagement with ISCs would be necessary. In light of the role of ISCs to develop training packages, we have provided below an outline of the integration of ICT skills into our training packages through the use of developed or imported units. SIT12 Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Training Package The SIT12 Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Training Package contains the ICT-specific unit, SITXICT402 Build and launch a small business website, and two units of competency that integrate social media. Additionally, the training package has 16 imported units relating to ICT skills and knowledge, such as social media usage, developing databases and conducting online transactions. SSA is also exploring the development of a new unit of competency with a focus on managing feedback received through social media. SIS10 Sport, Fitness and Recreation Training Package The SIS10 Sport, Fitness and Recreation Training Package contains one ICT-specific unit, SISXIND408 Select and use technology for sport, fitness and recreation, and has imported a range of units from the ICT Training Package, the Printing and Graphic Arts Training Package and the Business Services Training Package. Additionally, ICT units are in the core of four qualifications: the Diploma of Sport Development, the Diploma of Sport Coaching, the Certificate IV in Sport Coaching and the Certificate III in Sport Officiating, as well as offered as an elective in a range of qualifications. SIR07 Retail Services Training Package 5 Available at acciworkforcedevelopment.com.au/workforce/public/login 6 emphasis added
In the SIR07 Retail Services Training Package, units of competency have been updated and enhanced to ensure that new technology and industry trends are fully covered. New units of competency have been developed including four ICT units concerning operating retail technology and four E-business units. In addition, several units have been imported from the BSB Business Services Training Package. SIH11 Hairdressing Package and SIB10 Beauty Services In both the SIH11 Hairdressing Package and SIB10 Beauty Services Training Package, the skills to operate salon software are embedded within the unit of competency, SIBXCCS202A Provide service to clients. SFL10 SFL Floristry Training Package The SFL Floristry Training Package imports several BSB and SIR units concerning e- business, operating technology, conducting online transactions and maintaining websites. Action: Develop a work integrated learning program to embed business technology experience into appropriate courses SSA is a strong advocate of the role of work-based learning. To date, through the development of Companion Volumes and User Guides, SSA has consistently recommended to RTOs the benefits of working with industry to provide students with practical workplace experience. The advent of new standards for training packages and the associated companion volumes will also provide further advice to RTOs. Further to this, SSA believes that engagement with the ISCs would assist in facilitating opportunities for work integrated learning programs. In the service industries, an example of where a work-integrated learning program that embeds technological experience may be beneficial is in the travel industry. Learners in this industry require practical experience with the latest reservation systems and technology before entering the workforce, yet not all RTOs have access to all those currently being used in a live environment. Hence, practical experiences are critical to enabling graduates to be job-ready. Submission Details Organisation: Service Skills Australia Contact Person: Jeanette Allen Position: CEO, Service Skills Australia Phone: (02) 8243 1200 Email: jallen@serviceskills.com.au