IBSA Environment Scan 2015 Business Services Industry

Business
Services Industry
Environment Scan 2015
Predicting change
Contents
1. Executive summary
2. Industry intelligence
3. Identified workforce development needs
21
4. Current impact of training packages
27
5. Future directions
37
Appendix A - Methodology and bibliography
42
Appendix B - Business Services Occupations in demand
48
Appendix C - NCVER data
52
The Environment Scan

Context, purpose & audience
Continuing advances in technology and
ongoing pressure on productivity are
building the demand for creative and
innovation skills with which workforces
can use Big Data, engage with complex
systems and focus on customers. With
these skills Australian industry can better
respond to the challenges of operating
in a global marketplace.
As industries continue to evolve, converge
or relocate, and as new job roles emerge
and others become obsolete, developed
economies are looking to early warning
systems to detect the onset of economic
and industry trends. The Environment
Scans or Escans undertaken annually
by Industry Skills Councils report these
trends and assist governments and
industry to shape responsive vocational
training systems.
Specifically, Innovation and Business
Skills Australias (IBSA) Escan identifies
the factors currently having impact
on the skill needs of the workforces
of its six industries and considers how
well the national training system, its
products and services, and industry
itself are responding.
National, real time industry intelligence
is what sets the Escans apart from
other reports on the national training
system. The Escans capture data and
information from IBSAs ongoing visits
and conversations with key industry
stakeholders, regulators and, critically,
the people doing the jobs across the

industries and who experience firsthand
the impact of change. It also draws
on a range of topical sources such
as the latest industry, enterprise and
government research, and international
developments. The Escan methodology
can be found at Appendix A.
The Escans formal audience is the
Department of Education and Training
both to contribute to industry skills
needs advice and also as evidence
to support endorsement of training
package upgrades. The relevance of
the Escan however extends far beyond
and continues to be used extensively
by state and territory governments,
industry bodies, enterprises and many
other stakeholders involved in skills and
workforce development.
As a document limited in size, the
Escan does not seek to capture every
issue within each industry, rather it is a
snapshot of a continually developing
picture that is intended to alert and
inform a wide audience and enhance
their capacity to act.
The Escans are part of Industry Skills
Councils broader role in gathering
industry intelligence and undertaking
high quality analysis of the skills needs
and profile of current and future industry
workforces. Escan 2015 has been
produced with the assistance of funding
provided by the Australian Government
through the Department of Education
and Training.
Business Services
CHAP TER 1
Executive
summary
IBSA Environment Scan 2015
CH AP TER 1
Executive summary
Companies in the Business Services Industry provide professional assistance to other businesses,
such as strategic and technical advice, advertising, recruitment and administrative services.
Since the early 1990s, specialist business services have increasingly been contracted to
undertake activities previously conducted inhouse. This outsourcing has enabled firms across
the economy to lower the cost of ancillary services and better focus on their core activities.
An array of businesses can be

classified as business services, although
definitions of the industry vary. This
Environment Scan (Escan) focusses
on six key sectors within the industry
that are heavy users of the vocational
education and training (VET) system:
employment services (permanent and
temporary)
legal services
management consulting
contact centres
data processing and analytics, and
communication and marketing,
including advertising agencies,
public relations and market research
and statistical services.
It is estimated there are approximately
56,154 businesses in the industry, with
the legal services sector being the largest,
accounting for about a third of businesses.
The six sectors combined generatedsan
income of $66 billion in 2013, an
increase of about $10 billion on 2012,
Chapter 1 Executive summary
with growth mainly occurring in the

employment services, legal services and
communications and marketing sectors.
The legal services and employment
services sectors dominate the industry in
terms of revenue generated.
Improving customer engagement
The Business Services Industry has

benefited from long periods of growth
and, as the economy strengthens and
the outsourcing trend continues, the two
year outlook for the industry is positive,
if a little subdued due to softer general
economic conditions.
Business services are responding to these

trends by forging business partnerships,
specialising in niche areas, employing
more professionals, distributing decision
making more widely, getting closer to
customers through data and harnessing
the contingent workforce. These issues
all affect the future skill needs of
the workforce.
INDUSTRY TRENDS
While the Business Services Industry is
highly fragmented, and it is difficult to
accurately predict how it will fare in the
future overall, the following trends are in
play and will affect most sectors in coming
years and the health and shape of the
industry for which detail is provided in
Chapter 2 under Industry Outlook:
End of the mining boom
Tighter government budgets
Continued offshoring
Mobile technologies
Deeper global engagement, and
Full end to end services.
WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT
CHALLENGES
These industry trends along with other
social changes mean that the Business
Services Industry faces a number of
workforce development challenges over
the coming years, for which detail is
provided in Chapter 3.
Predicting change
Achieving healthy (and changing)

workplaces
Supporting the rise of the
professional
Cost and convenience of training
Diversity driving innovation
Using social media literacy
Computational thinking, and
Achieving environmental
sustainability.
IMPLICATIONS FOR
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Stronger digital skills
In the next 18 months to two years,

training in the Business Services Industry
will be focusing on its priority training
issues, to take account of the industry
trends and workforce development
challenges identified in this Escan and
reported in detail in Chapter 4 under
Outlook for training:
Building communication skills
Data analysis skills and

computational thinking
Heightened management skills
Higher level skills for
professionalisation
Skills to support sustainability, and
Training package use by
other industries.
Business services are responding to trends by forging business partnerships, specialising

in niche areas, employing more professionals, distributing decision making more widely,
getting closer to customers through data and harnessing the contingent workforce.
Business Services
CHAP TER 2
Industry
intelligence
CH AP TER 2
Industry intelligence
THE BUSINESS
SERVICES INDUSTRY
Companies in the Business Services
Industry provide professional assistance
to other businesses, such as strategic
and technical advice, advertising
and recruitment and administrative
services. Since the early 1990s,
specialist business services have been
increasingly contracted to undertake
activities previously conducted inhouse.
This outsourcing has enabled firms
across the economy to lower the cost of
ancillary services and better focus on
their core expertise.
An array of businesses can be
classified as business services,
although definitions of the industry
vary. This Escan focusses on six sectors
within the industry that are heavy
users of the vocational education and
training (VET) system:
employment services (permanent and
temporary)
legal services
management consulting
contact centres
data processing and analytics, and
communication and marketing
(primarily advertising, public
relations and market research and
statistical services segments of what
is generally often described as the
marketing industry).
Chapter 2 Industry intelligence
There are other professional services

that businesses buy in, eg IT and
accounting. These sectors are also
strong users of the VET system,
however, as significant sectors in
their own right, they are covered by
separate IBSA Escans Information
& Communications Technology and
Financial Services respectively.
Similarly the rental hiring and real
estate services are often included in
definitions of the Business Services
Industry, but these businesses are
covered in an Escan prepared by the
Construction and Property Services
Industry Skills Council.1
The six sectors in the Business Services
Industry vary significantly in terms of
size, structure, and employment levels,
however, there are also common
features. All business services depend
strongly on the quality of the people
they employ to provide the services
and retain clients; brand recognition
and customer service are critical for
differentiating services; and because
business services rely on the level
of outsourcing of other businesses,
the fortunes of each of these sectors
are strongly linked to the state of the
economy and business confidence.
For information about the outlook for ICT and

financial services see www.ibsa.org.au/environmentscan-escan, and information about the outlook for
rental, hiring and real estate services see www.
cpsisc.com.au.
The industry is mostly made up of small

firms hiring less than 20 people and
many sole proprietors or partnerships.
Larger players are purchasing medium
size firms resulting in a two tier
industry, comprising a small number
of very large and many very small
businesses.2
The six sectors in the industry combined
generated an income of $65.2 billion
in 2013, an increase of nearly $10
billion on 2012, with growth occurring
mainly in the employment, legal and
advertising services sectors. The legal
services and employment services
sectors dominate the industry in terms
of revenue; see Figure 1.
It is estimated there are approximately
56,154 businesses in the industry, with
the legal services sector accounting
for a third of these, while employment
services, management consultants
and advertising services each account
for around a fifth of businesses; see
Figure 2.
Geographically the businesses tend
to be concentrated in the capital
cities, with about two thirds or more
of businesses being located in New
South Wales and Victoria. The main
exceptions are contact call centres
which are increasingly being hosted in
Queensland with 25 percent in 2014 up
IBISWorld (2014) M6900 Business Services in

Australia May 2014
Predicting change
from 17 percent in 2011, and temporary

staff businesses being more widely
spread across the country, broadly in
line with the population share in each
state and territory.
the management consultants sector

has also been strong. Employment
services is the only sector which
reduced staff numbers in the last
year; see Figure 3.
Over the last year employment

growth has been strongest in the call
centre sector, largely noticeable due
to slowed or reversed growth in
other sectors. Employment in
Figure 1: Business Services sectors: revenue generated ($b), 2013-14

Temporary employment
Employment placement and recruitment
Employment services
Legal services
Management consultants
Market research Advertising
Communications and marketing
PR
Call centres
Data processsing
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Source: IBISWorld 2014 Industry Reports NZ294 Call Centre Operation in Australia; N7212 Temporary Staff Services in Australia; L7211 Employment Placement Services in Australia;
M6962B Public Relations Services in Australia; M6962A Management Consultants in Australia; M6941 Advertising Agencies in Australia; M6931 Legal Services in Australia; M6950
Market Research and Statistical Services in Australia; J5921 Data Processing and Web Hosting Services in Australia
Note: this and figures following are based on IBISWorld data, however, the wider communications and marketing sector includes strategic marketing, product development, brand development
and management, positioning, logistics and channel management, sales management, customer relations and digital engagement.
Figure 2: Business Services Industry:

number of businesses, 2014
823
Figure 3: Business Services sectors: annual employment growth (%),

2013-14
1,089
8
7
6
Note: this and figures following are based on IBISWorld

data, however, the wider communications and marketing
sector includes strategic marketing, product development,
brand development and management, positioning, logistics
and channel management, sales management, customer
relations and digital engagement.
1
0
Perm. employment
Temp. employment
Legal services
Advertising
-2
Public relations
-1
Market research
Call Centre Operation in Australia; N7212 Temporary

Staff Services in Australia; L7211 Employment Placement
Services in Australia; M6962B Public Relations Services
in Australia; M6962A Management Consultants in
Australia; M6941 Advertising Agencies in Australia;
M6931 Legal Services in Australia; M6950 Market
Research and Statistical Services in Australia; J5921
Data Processing and Web Hosting Services in Australia
Source: IBISWorld 2014 Industry Reports NZ294
Data processing
12,725
Call centres
11,717
5
Percent
18,550
11,250
Source: IBISWorld 2014 Industry Reports NZ294 Call Centre Operation in Australia; N7212 Temporary Staff Services
in Australia; L7211 Employment Placement Services in Australia; M6962B Public Relations Services in Australia; M6962A
Management Consultants in Australia; M6941 Advertising Agencies in Australia; M6931 Legal Services in Australia; M6950
Market Research and Statistical Services in Australia; J5921 Data Processing and Web Hosting Services in Australia
Note: this and figures following are based on IBISWorld data, however, the wider communications and marketing sector
includes strategic marketing, product development, brand development and management, positioning, logistics and channel
management, sales management, customer relations and digital engagement.
Business Services
Compared with other service industries

such as tourism and education
Australias Business Services Industry
is generally trade exposed, with most
firms neither exporting nor facing a
high degree of import competition.
Currently, the most trade-exposed
part of the industry is the professional
services with exports and imports
of legal and consulting services, in
particular, rising over time.3
The products and services and
economic outlook for each sector are
discussed in more detail below; data
are drawn from the latest IBISWorld
industry reports, unless otherwise
referenced.
Employment services
The employment services sector
comprises the employment placement
and recruitment services segments,
which account for over three quarters
of the businesses and the temporary
staff services segment. The employment
services sector provides recruitment and
screening of candidates for executive
and general jobs, outsourced human
resource functions encompassing
recruitment, training, administration,
workplace safety and strategy, as well
as contract and labour hire services,
temporary placement services and
placement of apprentices and trainees.
The types of services in demand
in this sector are sensitive to the
economic environment. During periods
of economic weakness employment
agencies provide more general
resum and networking assistance
to applicants, and a greater level
of outplacement services. Improved
economic conditions bring demand
for one on one career coaching and
permanent placements. A greater
number of smaller and specialised
providers have been entering the
industry, including online providers,
leading to increased competition and
constraining profit growth.
As the economy improves and
unemployment remains relatively low,
revenue growth in the employment
Manalo & Orsmond (2013) The Business Services

Sector
placement and recruitment services

segment is expected to strengthen in
2014-15. Job vacancies and new hiring
will increase over the coming years
as the economy continues to steadily
grow. Businesses will turn to recruitment
companies to help them find the right
applicant for jobs as competition for
workers heats up. The expansion of
major operators into new service areas,
such as HR and payroll consulting, will
help drive industry growth.
The general trend towards outsourcing
non-core activities, in both the private
and public sectors, has fuelled strong
growth in the temporary staff services
segment. Demand from healthcare
and social assistance agencies, mining
companies and financial services firms
is expected to continue to grow, fuelling
growth in business services revenue.
However, outsourcing lower skilled jobs
to developing economies will negatively
affect employment in the sector in
Australia, as will the end of the cooling
of resources activities. Temporary
staff agencies can build their training
operations, allowing them to capitalise
on areas of critical skills need.
Legal services
The legal services sector includes
solicitors and barristers (public and
private) and legal aid services, as well
as notary, conveyancing and patent
services offered by lawyers. The sector
is large and growing. There are 18,550
businesses in Australia offering legal
services.
Many major firms have been looking
overseas for growth opportunities and
a number have merged or formed
alliances with overseas firms. These
firms now have greater access to
international markets, including the
United States and countries in the
rapidly growing Asia Pacific region.
Legal firms have increased outsourcing
and social media use over the past
five years, with specialisation and
online presence becoming increasingly
important. Value has become a
greater priority for clients and rising
demand for value based fee structures,
rather than hourly rates, has become
particularly relevant for small firms.
Over the next five years revenue and

profits are expected to improve for this
sector. While clients will be expecting
value for money, demand from the
resources industry, personal injury work
and international markets will provide
growth.
Management consulting
Management consultants provide
advice and assistance to organisations
on management issues, including
strategic workforce and organisational
planning, financial planning, marketing
and human resources. Since the late
1990s, businesses and governments
have employed an increasing number of
consultants, as outsourcing has become
a typical business practice. Outsourcing
of advisory services and other
sporadically required work has also
become a recognised means of cutting
core costs and stimulating growth. There
are now over 11,000 management
consulting businesses in Australia and
over 37 percent of industry revenue
is currently derived from financial,
business and professional services.
A recent report on the global consulting
industry compares client motivation
for using consulting firms. Roughly
two thirds of all consulting work
is motivated by factors relating to
individuals - specialist skills, help with
implementation, extra hands during
busy periods, - while the remaining
third relates to corporate consulting
such as responding to regulatory
change, independent validation of
decisions, and support in planning and
running large projects. 4
Management consultants providing
data analysis services have been
increasing in demand, as firms aim
to track consumer preferences and
other information to support operating
efficiencies. Clients are also demanding
audit and other accountancy services,
coupled with the deeper analysis of
revenue streams and profitability.
Growth in the Asia Pacific region,
particularly China, is expected to drive
further demand for these services.
Source (2014) Trends shaping the consulting industry

over the next 12 months
Predicting change
The sector is forecast to grow by an

annualised 3.6 percent over the five
years through to 2018-19 and to be
worth $9.3 billion.
Contact call centres

Contact centres interact with customers
or the general public on behalf of
clients via telephone or another
technology interface. They may be
engaged to promote products and
services, solicit contributions, or provide
information, technical assistance or
other forms of customer support. Most
of the revenue in the sector comes
from customer care or relationship
management, as businesses are
investing more in ensuring customer
concerns are dealt with effectively.
The major clients for the sector
are organisations within the
telecommunications, finance and
insurance, healthcare and government
industries. These industries require a
high level of customer interaction, both
pre and post-sale of their products and
services. Retailers are also increasing
their use of contact centres with the
transition to online shopping resulting
in a growing need for customer service
support.
With the rise of big data, there has
been increased focus on customer
engagement, customer satisfaction,
and data analytics. As a result contact
centres have improved the level of
reporting on statistics and identifying
actionable insights from their call
activity.5
Australian based contact centres
face a high level of competition from
international providers, particularly
when the Australian dollar is strong.
Over the next five years, the sector is
expected to continue feeling pressure
from offshore contact centres able to
operate with lower wage costs. To
compete with contact centres based
in countries such as India and the
Philippines, many domestic businesses
will look to provide high value
added services, such as customer
management solutions and product
Buchner (2013) Five top trends for call centres and the
pricing dilemma
The general trend towards outsourcing non-core activities,

in both the private and public sectors, has fuelled strong
growth in the temporary staff services segment.
upselling. Operators in Australia are
also beginning to prioritise service
quality over labour price in response to
changing client expectations.
Stronger business confidence, more
demand for process outsourcing from
Australian businesses and a weaker
trade weighted index are expected to
assist contact centre performance over
the next five years. In 2013-14, revenue
was estimated to rise by 9.7 percent.
Data processing
and analytics
Data processing encompasses capturing,
digitising and processing data from
various sources. Data processing has
generally expanded in the last five years
in line with increased internet usage and
improved availability of data. Analytics
are used to improve business efficiency.
Many firms struggle to interpret and
process the abundance of data they now
capture and find it easier to outsource
this role to data specialists.
The improvement in IT infrastructure has
increased the reliance on expert data
analysis where, historically it may have
been an inhouse function. Major clients
tend to come from high transaction
sectors such as financial services and
insurance, energy and resources, and
ICT services. The government sector is
also a major client group in areas such as
education, health and medical services.
The trend for businesses to outsource
data processing is expected to
continue, leading to industry expansion.
According to a survey report released
by the International Data Corporation
in 2013, about 80percent of Australian
businesses have either implemented
big data analytics or planned to use
big data analytics in the following 12
months. Emerging technologies will
enable a wider range of analytics,
including reporting, dashboards
and planning, predictive analytics,
recommendations, and new cognitive
capabilities for transactional, social,

mobile, and other data types.6
Economic conditions are expected to
be stronger over the next five years,
strengthening business confidence and
leading to higher demand. However,
technology advances mean the industry
will continue to compete on a global
basis and Australian firms may find it
harder to compete on price with low cost
international firms, particularly the more
labour intensive data processing activities.
Communications
and marketing
The communications and marketing
sector combines three segments.
The largest is advertising agencies,
comprising about 8,000 businesses,
followed by market research and
statistical services, with about 3,000
businesses and then the much smaller
public relations segment with about
400 businesses. Other segments
include strategic marketing, product
development, brand development and
management, positioning, logistics
and channel management, sales
management, customer relations, digital
engagement; these often operate by
having marketers deeply integrated
into their businesses. Australias
communication and marketing sector
is concentrated in New South Wales
and Victoria where clients corporate
and head offices tend to be located,
particularly major clients in the banking
and finance institutions.
All three segments are concerned with
helping businesses understand and
communicate better with their clients.
Advertising agencies have tended to
use broadcasting and print media,
billboards and the internet to promote
a clients products or services. Market
research companies conduct opinion
polls and qualitative and quantitative
Information week (2014) IBMs predictions: 6 big data

trends in 2014
Business Services
research to help clients understand the

opinions of targeted consumer groups.
Public relations (PR) firms manage the
communication between a client and its
stakeholders in a way that promotes the
clients image and interests, including
through media monitoring, press
releases, public appearances, web
pages, social media and special events.
A key challenge for all sectors has been
increasing media fragmentation driven
by digital and new media and faster
internet connections. This is driving the
move towards diversified marketing
communications companies. It is also
threatening advertising revenues. Online
advertising tends not to generate as
much revenue unless it is part of a
larger cross platform campaign. There
is a growing view that mass media
advertising is a high cost method of
communicating with customers and
that the message may be diluted
or lost among the myriad of other
advertisements. Marketing and public
relations firms have found ways to fill
the gap at a lower cost than advertising
companies. Social media such as blogs,
discussion forums, video sharing and
social networking websites have become
a key avenue for PR communications.
Over the five years through to 201819, the sector is expected to further
reinvent its services in line with
advertising and media fragmentation.
Revenue in the advertising segment will
steadily increase with greater business
confidence. The market research
segment will also grow steadily as
demand for analytics increases.
Growth in this segment is expected to
be particularly strong in 2016-17 with
the release of the Census data likely
to trigger government and business
demand for research analysis. The PR
segment is likely to grow at the highest
rate over the next five years as public
and private organisations look for
new ways to reach their audience and
influence key people and customers.
WORKFORCE
CHARACTERISTICS AND
EMPLOYMENT TRENDS
Employment growth over the last four
years has been particularly strong in
the sectors that employ high numbers
of professional staff ie management
consulting and legal services,
while employment has declined in
communications and marketing and
employment services. Employment

numbers in contact centres have
remained generally stable, although,
as noted earlier, the last year has seen
high employment growth; see Figure 4.
According to the Reserve Bank of
Australia, employment trends within
the broader Business Services Industry
reflect four interrelated factors: the
growth of the mining sector; the
increase in the demand for the output
of skilled labour within the economy;
the increased use of outsourcing by
firms to acquire business services; and
technology developments.7 The impact
of these factors on specific industries
within the Business Services Industry
has varied, and some of these factors
have been important for an extended
period while others have been more
recent phenomena.
Most employees in this Industry have
either graduate or postgraduate
qualifications. Some sectors require
varying levels of education, such
as market research and statistical
services. Those who interview and
input data tend not to require tertiary
7
Manalo & Orsmond (2013) The Business Services

Sector
Figure 4: Employment level and four year change to May 2014 in Professional Services within the
Business Services Industry (000s)
Legal services
Management consulting
Employment services
Communications and marketing
Contact centres
Employment level 2014

Employment change 2011-2012
Data processing
-50 0
50 100 150
000s
Source: ABS, 6291.0.55.003 Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, May 2014, SuperTABLE E06 Employed persons by Industry (ANZSIC group); IBISWorld 2014 Industry
Report, Contact Centres in Australia.
10
Predicting change
services sector jobs are located

compared with an 11percent population
share. Employment in professional,
scientific and technical services in Western
Australia has increased by 27 percent
in the last five years and employment in
administrative and support services has
increased by 25 percent. This reflects the
heavy use of these services, particularly
the two largest cities of Melbourne and

Sydney. The ACT has more than its share
of employment in other administrative
services, marketing and communications
and management consulting, likely due
to the demand for these services by
government agencies. The impact of
the mining sector is evident in Western
Australia, where 13 percent of employment
qualifications, but analytical work

generally requires a background
in statistics.
Employment in the industry shows that by
state or territory, New South Wales and
Victoria have more than their population
share across most sectors. This reflects
many business services having offices in
Figure 5: Business Services employment by sector and state or territory (000s), 2014
45
40
NSW
35
Vic
30
Qld
000s
25
SA
20
WA
15
5
NT
ACT
s
rv
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iv
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oy
m
m
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em
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ad
an
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ag
an
d
M
ar
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g
ic
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g
ns
ul
tin
co
m
m
un
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vi
ce
er
ls
ga
Le
Tas
10
Source: ABS, 6291.0.55.003 Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, May 2014, SuperTABLE E06 Employed persons by Industry (ANZSIC group)
Legal employment estimates for States and Territories are likely to be less accurate than those for total Australia as the percentage of employment that relates to the Legal sector in a
particular State or Territory may be different to that for Australia
Figure 6: Persons employed in Business Services Industry by sector by gender (000s), May 2014
140
120
100
000s
80
60
40
Female
20
Male
er
ls
ga
tc
en
em
Le
on
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nt
vi
ce
s
vi
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er
en
ts
oy
m
an
ag
pl
Em
an
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M
ar
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Source: ABS, 6291.0.55.003 Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, May 2014, SuperTABLE E06 Employed persons by Industry (ANZSIC group)
Business Services
11
office administration services and other

non-defined administrative services.
temporary staff services, by mining, oil

and gas, engineering transport and
construction companies.
The Business Services Industry is
highly feminised. All sectors, except
for management consulting, have an
overrepresentation of female workers;
see Figure 6. However, a breakdown
by occupation shows that of the higher
paying professions in the industry,
including barristers, management
and organisation analysts and most
types of managers, apart from office
managers and HR managers, most
remain male dominated, while the
lower paying jobs such as receptionists
and contact centre workers remain
occupied mostly by women. Note
that in Figure 6, other administrative
services comprise call centre
operations at 21.5 percent as well as
document preparation services, credit
reporting and debt collection services,
Business services employ large numbers

of managers, clerical and administrative
workers and professionals. Twenty years
ago clerical and administrative workers
were on par with professionals, being
the largest two occupational groups
with each accounting for 17.3 percent
of national employment. Today, clerical
and administrative workers make up
14.4 percent of national employment,
while professionals are the largest
occupational group accounting for 22.2
percent. The managers group is smaller
again, comprising 12.9 percent of
occupations. Most new jobs have been
created in occupational groups for which
post school qualifications are commonly
required. Over the last five years clerical
and administrative workers, which
require lower levels of education, have
had negative employment growth,
while professionals and managers

have grown by 308,000 and 187,600
workers respectfully.8
VET has a role to play in educating
workers in each of these occupational
groups shown in Figure 7, about a third of
both clerical and administrative workers
and managers require a Certificate III
or higher VET qualification; currently 15
percent of employed professionals have
a VET qualification. Given the large
numbers in the professionals occupational
group it is likely that, with growth
projected in the group, higher level
VET will then be accessed by a similar
number of professionals as is accessed
by the clerical and administrative workers
and managers occupational groups.
Figure 8 shows the projected increase
in numbers of workers with higher level
8
Department of Employment (2014) Australian

Jobs 2014
Figure 7: Occupational group employment by level of education (%), 2014

2
PROFESSIONALS
MANAGERS
10
30
15
35
73
31
CLERICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE WORKERS
21
43
30
Bachelor degree or
higher qual
Certificate III or higher
VET qual
No post school qual
Other
Sources: ABS Labour Force; Department of Employment, Employment Projections; ABS Survey of Education and Work.
12
Predicting change
Figure 8: Number of workers with Certificate III or higher VET qualification, 2013,
and projected for 2018, by occupational group (000)
600
500
400
300
200
2013
100
Projected 2018
0
Clerical and
administrative workers
Managers
Professionals
Sources: ABS Labour Force; Department of Employment, Employment Projections; ABS Survey of Education and Work.
VET qualifications in five years, assuming

share of qualification levels between
occupational groups remains the same.
Table 1 shows that general clerks and
receptionists dominate the Business
Services workforce. However, these
occupations are not just employed in

the Business Services Industry, they are
employed in high numbers in many
industry sectors.
Other large employing occupations
in the industry and shown below are
office managers, advertising and sales

managers and contract program and
project administrators. Together, these
five occupations employ 770,000
people across the economy.
Table 1: Total persons employed in Business Services occupations, by number employed,

May2011May2014
ANZSCO
Business Services
Occupation Title (DoE)
Employment size order
Occupation Title (ABS)
May
2011
May
2012
May
2013
May
2014
000
000
000
000
5311
Clerks, General
General Clerks
183.6
196.8
213.3
229.5
5421
Receptionists
Receptionists
168.6
175.1
178.9
166.2
1311
Managers, Advertising
and Sales
Advertising, Public Relations

and Sales Managers
122.5
129.7
124
131.4
5121
Managers, Office
Office Managers
128.7
153.3
128.4
127.4
5111
Contract, Program and

Project Administrators
Contract, Program and

Project Administrators
96.9
99.5
113.6
114.6
5911
Clerks, Purchasing and

Supply Logistics
Purchasing and Supply

Logistics Clerks
82.3
86.7
85.5
84.9
2713
Solicitors
Solicitors
59.6
56.6
62.7
66
5412
Clerks, Inquiry
Information Officers
63.1
66.3
66.6
65.9
5321
Keyboard Operators
Keyboard Operators
76.8
69.8
56.9
63.9
5212
Secretaries
Secretaries
73.0
71.4
68.3
60.2
Source ABS, 6291.0.55.003 Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, May 2014, SuperTABLE E08 Employed persons by Occupation (ANZSCO occupation)
Business Services
13
ANZSCO
14
Business Services
Occupation Title (DoE)
Employment size order
Occupation Title (ABS)
May
2011
May
2012
May
2013
May
2014
000
000
000
000
5211
Personal Assistants
Personal Assistants
58.1
56
54.7
58.2
2231
Human Resource Professionals
Human Resource Professionals
59.7
66.5
57.2
56.9
1112
Managers, General
General Managers
42.9
53.4
51.3
56.4
1335
Managers, Production
Production Managers
53.9
53.6
55.7
54.9
2247
Management and Organisation

Analysts
Management and Organisation

Analysts
46.4
46.1
55.8
54.7
2251
Advertising and Marketing

Professionals
Advertising and Marketing

Professionals
48.1
47.5
51.8
50
1323
Managers, Human Resource
Human Resource Managers
44.4
47.9
48.1
45.7
1000
Managers, nfd
Managers, nfd
15.3
18.4
29.2
39.9
1492
Managers, Call, Contact Centre

and Customer Service
Call or Contact Centre and

Customer Service Managers
36.9
38.1
36.5
37.5
5513
Clerks, Payroll
Payroll Clerks
35.1
35.4
39.5
34.8
5411
Call or Contact Centre Workers
Call or Contact Centre Workers
34.7
34.0
30.3
33.8
1336
Managers, Supply and Distribution
Supply, Distribution and

Procurement Managers
29.3
32.5
40.3
28.8
2513
Environmental and Occupational

Health Professionals
Occupational and Environmental

Health Professionals
27
29.4
26.6
25.2
1324
Managers, Policy and Planning
Policy and Planning Managers
24.5
27.2
22.2
24
2343
Scientists, Environmental
Environmental Scientists
20.6
24.2
19.5
22.9
2249
Information and Organisation

Professionals, Other
Other Information and

Organisation Professionals
17.6
16.2
21.8
20.7
2253
Public Relations Professionals
Public Relations Professionals
17.9
21.3
19.1
19.3
2212
Auditors and Company

Secretaries
Auditors, Company Secretaries

and Corporate Treasurers
14.7
17.9
16.2
18.8
2244
Intelligence and Policy Analysts
Intelligence and Policy Analysts
16.6
25.6
24.1
18
5122
Managers, Practice
Practice Managers
13.4
17.1
16.7
17.1
5992
Clerks, Court and Legal
Court and Legal Clerks
11.3
12.3
13.5
12.5
5991
Conveyancers and Legal

Executives
Conveyancers and Legal

Executives
12.1
10
12.7
11.8
5994
Clerks, Human Resource
Human Resource Clerks
12.8
12.2
11.7
10.3
6393
Telemarketers
Telemarketers
10.3
12.4
9.5
10.2
1300
Managers, Specialist nfd
Specialist Managers, nfd
5.1
7.5
9.2
8.2
1321
Managers, Corporate Services
Corporate Services Managers
9.8
5.8
8.1
2711
Barristers
Barristers
7.7
7.0
7.3
7.1
5619
Clerical and Office Support

Workers, Other
Other Clerical and Office Support

Workers
8.1
11.5
7.7
6.9
3126
Safety Inspectors
Safety Inspectors
3.4
4.5
4.7
Predicting change
INDUSTRY AND
WORKFORCE OUTLOOK
Industry outlook
The major challenge faced by this
industry is spending commitments of
companies to purchase services from
business service providers. This, in turn, is
directly tied to the health of the economy.
The general business outlook is somewhat
subdued. The Reserve Bank of Australia
(RBA) predicted that overall, growth is
likely to have strengthened a little in
2014, yet only to a pace that is still a
little below trend.9 Slowing of the mining
boom, which has dominated investment
for several years sees consumers being
hesitant about spending and businesses
reluctant to employ. Further, governments
are cutting back on their spending as they
seek to get their budgets onto a more
sustainable footing, and unemployment is
rising nationally. Nevertheless, according
to the Australian Industry Group (AIG)
CEO survey, the services sector remains
relatively positive. CEOs of almost three
quarters of services expected sales
revenue to have risen in 2014, relative
to 2013, and 41 percent of respondents
plan to hire more employees and 24
percent expect to cut employment. The
top five growth concerns among services
CEOs for 2014 were:
wage pressures 19 percent
customer demand 17 percent
regulatory burdens 16 percent
skill shortages 12 percent, and
flexibility of industrial relations
11 percent.10
Despite the fragmented nature of the
Business Services Industry future trends
expected to affect most sectors and
the health and shape of the Industry
overall include:
End of the mining boom the
economy is in a transition period as
the mining boom which has been
sustaining the economy for several
years slows. In the next few years,
RBA (2014) Statement on monetary policy February

2014 Economic Outlook
10 AIG (2014) CEO Survey Business Prospects in 2014
mining investment is expected to

decline further as large projects are
completed.11 Business services that have
been reaping the benefits of the boom,
particularly the temporary employment
services sector which currently attracts
16 percent of its revenue from the
resources industry, will be looking to
other industries for business.
Government budget cuts tight
Australian and state and territory
government budgets will reduce
demand for a range of business
services as projects are cancelled
or put on hold, and employment is
reduced. This particularly affects
management consultants, employment
services and market researchers.
Offshoring the continuing drive
for increased efficiency in the face
of strong competitive pressures, as
well as advances in communication
technologies and skill shortages, in
Australia have underpinned longer
term efforts to shift parts of the
internal operations of some business
services firms offshore or, increasingly,
nearshore to New Zealand. This trend
affects larger firms, in the contact
centre, data processing and legal
services sectors that are continuing
to shift back office, process style jobs
offshore while keeping higher skilled,
more complex jobs in Australia.
Customer engagement efforts
to stimulate demand and business
sustainability by enhancing customer
engagement is a key theme across all
sectors. Contact centres are focused
on more user friendly navigation
and stronger customer service skills.
Advertising is working with new media
and below the line approaches to
capture customer attention. Strong
interpersonal skills and customer care
are vital to the work of a management
consultant. As the concept of customer
centricity gains momentum, business
services are applying technology and
analytics to help client businesses gain
greater insight into their customers,
and to help target and tailor customer
interactions.
Working with new technologies
each sector continues to embrace
new technologies. The Cloud is
11 ibid
increasingly used as businesses

become confident their data are
safe. Mobile devices as business
tools, software that integrates social
media in daily business processes
will enhance and extend internal
and external collaboration. Big data
analytics help businesses understand
their clients and forecast more
accurately. Management consultants
and market researchers and statistical
services are developing big data
specialities; and advertising services
are using neuroscience developments
to better understand customers. Voice
recognition is becoming a standard
approach within contact centres.
Deeper global engagement
larger business services firms are
already working closely through
partnerships and collaborations with
overseas companies, particularly
in Asia continuing to create new
opportunities in emerging markets,
supported by Australian policy to
integrate more with Asia. Over the
past 20 years, China and India have
more than doubled their share of the
global economy. The size of Chinas
economy has expanded nearly ten
times in that period and Indias has
grown 5.5 times, both in purchasing
power and parity terms. With an
expanding middle class in Asia,
particularly in China, new markets are
being created for business services.
End to end services business
services are increasingly about
providing full solutions for their
customers rather than focusing on
single elements of the business with
clients looking for total business
solutions to manage all aspects
of design, implementation and
monitoring. Business services, from
contact centres to employment
services and management consultants,
need capacity through partnering
with specialised services, vertically
integrating services and reorganising
governance arrangements, to allow
distributed decision making.
Workforce and
employment outlook
The expectation of a gradual
strengthening of economic growth
should, in time, lead to stronger
Business Services
15
demand for business services labour

but, with growth expected to be
below trend over the year ahead, the
unemployment rate is likely to remain
elevated before it slips in 2016; extra
jobseekers will be in the labour market
for some time and wage growth is
expected to remain low.12
The Business Services Industry itself is
however expected to pick up some of
the slack in the labour market. IBISWorld
forecasts indicate all sectors, apart
from contact centres, will increase their
workforces. Management consultant
numbers are expected to expand quite
dramatically in the next five years,
increasing by 23percent or over 8,000
new workers. Legal services will also
employ nearly 8,000 new workers. The
employment numbers for the temporary
staff services sector are high but these
numbers reflect the staff firms employ for
use by other industries. The additional
41,000 workers recorded on the books
of this segment will be employed across
the economy, but particularly in key
markets such as finance and insurance,
mining, oil and gas and education and
healthcare. News that Telstra will be
losing about 5,000 contact centre staff
over the next five years13 is consistent
with the figures showing a decline in

employment in this sector.
As noted in Figure 9 in IBSA
occupations, professional jobs are
expected to be most in demand in the
next five years. Around one in every
three new jobs is expected to be in the
professionals occupational group.
The managers group will also grow
strongly, accounting for just under
one in every six new jobs.14
Of the professionals working in the
Business Services Industry, it is expected
that information professionals numbers
will see the strongest growth, while
business, finance and human resource
professionals, sales, marketing and
public relations professionals and legal,
social and welfare professionals will all
experience above average growth.
While growth for clerical and
administrative workers will be on the
low side, large numbers of new jobs
are still expected to be created for the
role of general clerk and even small
changes in this segment have a large
impact numerically with a total of
220,900 workers across the economy.15
Indicators of some of the key workforce
trends affecting each business services
12 RBA (2014) Statement on monetary policy, August 2014

13 Fraser (2014) Telstra call centre jobs will not exist in
five years, says CEO David Thodey ABC News 19
August 2014
14 Department of Employment (2014) Australian

jobs 2014
15 ibid.
sector are highlighted below, including

what types of attributes the workforce
will need to support businesses to
become more efficient, productive and
competitive into the future.
Employment services
The heathcare sector is already the
largest user of employment services due
to the high number of people working
in the sector, and the extensive use of
part time and casual staff. Demand
from this sector is growing quickly.
Employment services workers who also
bring healthcare specialities will be
highly sought after.
Like most other business services,
quality data analysis is becoming
central to success for employment
services. Organisations will be looking
for staff with the capability to conduct
sophisticated workforce forecasting
and planning. There is also a growing
emphasis in the sector on using metrics
to determine the quality of placements.
Staff will increasingly be expected to
have skills in designing, interpreting
and analysing data.
A legislative focus has seen an
increase in demand for employee
relations specialists, as companies
place a higher value on mitigating the
risk and cost of claims. Workplace
health and safety expertise has also
become more important to ensure
Table 2: Forecast employment growth in Business Services sectors, 2013-19

Sector
Employment
2013-14
Forecast employment
2018-19
Forecast employment
growth 2013-2018
36,063
44,452
23.2%
Temporary staff services
299,800
341,400
13.8%
Advertising agencies
9,800
10,900
11.2%
Public relations
4,360
4,823
10.6%
Legal services
98,970
106,713
7.8%
Data processing
4,895
5,260
7.4%
Market research and statistical services
25,400
26,400
3.9%
Employment placement services
119,500
122,800
2.7%
Contact centres
29,325
29,243
-0.3%
Source: IBISWorld 2014 Industry Reports NZ294 Call Centre Operation in Australia ;N7212 Temporary Staff Services in Australia; L7211 Employment Placement Services in Australia;
M6962B Public Relations Services in Australia; M6962A Management Consultants in Australia ; M6941 Advertising Agencies in Australia M6931 Legal Services in Australia; M6950
Market Research and Statistical Services in Australia.
16
Predicting change
Figure 9: Share of employment growth by occupational group, Nov 2013 Nov 2018 (% of total growth)
3.1%
1.3%
Professionals
8.3%
Community and personal service workers
8.7%
32.3%
10.8%
Managers
Technicians and trades workers
Sales workers
Clerical and administrative workers
15.7%
19.8%
Machinery operators and drivers

Labourers
Source: Department of Employment, Employment Projections
employees understand their legislative

responsibilities.16 Hays has also noticed
an increasing demand for Diversity
Consultants and Managers as more
companies develop strategies to achieve
equality and diversity in their workplace.
The demand for this expertise is
expected to grow in coming years.17
Despite the increasing reliance on
technology, soft skills remain critical
in this industry. Organisations will
always be looking for effective
communicators who can manage rapid
change and influence workforces to
adapt quickly. This will be particularly
important for sectors where restructuring
and redundancies are anticipated.
According to recruiters, Robert Walters,
personal qualities such as these will be
at least as important as specific skill sets
in coming years.18
Marketing and
communications
In this sector, digital media is the key
focus for the foreseeable future. Digital
media is no longer a specialisation but is
part of the mainstream communications
mix. Advertising and marketing
professionals with SEO (search engine
optimisation) and SEM (search engine
marketing) skills will be sought to manage
online campaigns.19 Social media
marketing is becoming more mature with
a focus on smarter and more careful
approaches being applied. Roles centred
around social media with names as
diverse as brand and product managers,
digital market researchers and mobile
advertising mangers are emerging.
Visual media will begin to dominate
the market, with the massive growth in
popularity of infographics, and apps
such as Instagram, indicating people
are reading less and watching more.20
16 Hays (2014) Salary guide
As technologies for video production,

digital animation, augmented
reality, gaming and media editing,
become ever more sophisticated and
widespread, a new ecosystem will take
shape around these areas.21 Individuals
with strong skills in engaging customers
via these new media will be in demand.
As in employment services, metrics in
marketing and communications are
increasingly being applied to measure
success. Metrics are used to measure
online engagement, including social
shares, YouTube views and online
conversions.22 Insight and analytic experts
will also be in demand as companies
try to better understand their customer
to gain a competitive advantage.
Organisations want marketing and
communications staff to work in
conjunction with technology teams to
provide deeper customer insights.23
B&T magazine
21 Institute for the Future (2011) Future work skills 2020
17 ibid
19 ibid
22 ibid
18 Robert Walters (2014) Global Salary Survey Australia
20 Chau (2014) 10 digital marketing trends for 2014,
23 Hays op cit
Business Services
17
Recruiters advise that specialist, indepth

knowledge of industries is increasingly
prized over general sales and
marketing experience.24
Technology developments are having a
key impact on the management consulting
sector too. Employees in the management
consulting sector need to maintain their
knowledge of recent technology advances
so they can provide up to date advice to
clients. A key component of being part of
this skill and knowledge intensive industry
is the ability to devote considerable
resources to ongoing training.
Service specialisation can build business
for consultants. Growth in the industry
is coming from the entry of small
businesses - less than 20 employees
specialising in niche areas. Specialist
knowledge of developing countries,
especially China, is a strong selling point
for management consulting firms. This
usually requires employees who have
worked in the target country and been
exposed to the local business culture.25
Legal services
Several large legal firms have been
experimenting with legal process
outsourcing (LPO), which involves
sending simple legal work to companies
in low-cost jurisdictions such as India
as a cost saving measure. Much of the
work being outsourced was historically
done by legal clerks, paralegals and
entry-level lawyers. There is concern
this work will reduce and potentially
put further pressure on the already
tight legal graduate market.26 High
competition means strong results and
experience will be key to securing jobs
for new entrants.
Legal firms are looking to social media
tools to accomplish a variety of legal
tasks, including locating and researching
witnesses and interacting with clients. In
Australia, e-conveyancing is expected
to take off in 2015. This will offer legal
firms the opportunity to transfer and settle

property with no paper documents or
certificates of title, no bank cheques and
no physical attendance at settlement.27
Work life balance has become an issue
in the legal sector, as business pressures
build to do more with less. Virtual law
firms are emerging as an alternative
method of practising law, permitting
flexible work hours and a better work
life balance.
More demanding and price driven
clients are driving the rise of smaller,
niche legal firms able to provide a
quality service at an attractive price.28
Data processing
and analytics
The business analytics field is still
relatively young and developing,
however significant demand for
analytics professionals is being driven
by the increasing pervasiveness of
digital systems having impact on
organisations costs, processes and
customers. Analytics professionals are
being sought to help unlock value by
providing data based insights to a
wide variety of industries from banking,
government, health, transportation,
utilities and insurance, to education.29
These functions may not always be
outsourced to data firms. As computer
technology becomes simpler to use
and the value of analytics becomes
more widely accepted clients, mainly
large corporations and public sector
organisations, are increasingly engaging
data scientists to perform both data
processing and analysis tasks inhouse,
particularly the simpler functions.
Another workforce trend is the
international outsourcing of some
functions to highly skilled, but low
labour cost, countries such as China
and India, to lower the cost of
contracted services to clients.
Data firms need a workforce that can
27 Ginanne (2014) Ready to take the electronic plunge

24 Robert Walters op cit
25 IBIS World (2014) Industry Report Management
Consultants in Australia
26 Boxell (2013) Outsourcing hits home for law grads
18
28 Ginnane (2014) The future of law firms

29 Institute of Analytics professionals Australia (2014)
Survey: Huge demand for talented analytics
professionals in Australia driving salaries upwards
deliver customer focused, end to end

solutions. Flexibility in implementing
customised services has increased
in importance in the past five years.
Flexibility relates to an ability to
understand the clients business
environment, and being able to offer
timely, quality solutions within the
agreed budgets.
Contact call centres

Understanding and making the best
use of technology will continue to
be important for the contact centre
workforce. The increase in self help
options for customers means contact
centre workers will be receiving a
proportionately higher number of
complex and emotive enquiries. As
customers needs become more refined,
their perception of the agent experience
will have a direct impact on the business
outcome of the interaction.30
A key concern for workers and
managers is having up to date
knowledge management systems.
Without these systems, agents will
provide incorrect, inconsistent or
outdated information to customers. This
will reduce customer satisfaction and
drive an increase in customer contacts.31
With the increase in channels used by
contact centres - web, social media,
SMS, apps etc, more effort will need
to be put into measuring use and
costs. Workforce training and quality
management will be vitally important.
According to the latest Global Contact
Centre Benchmarking Report, frontline
staff cannot keep pace with transaction
complexity, as support systems lag
behind customer expectations and
user needs. The report also found that
the expanding roles of contact centre
agents are becoming more interesting
but tougher to perform.32
There has been a campaign for
many years to improve contact centre
conditions, as stress is one of the major
problems for call centre staff. This
30 Teasdale, K. (2013) Four challenges for customer

self-service
31 Dimension data (2014) 2013-14 Global contact
centre benchmarking report.
32 ibid
Predicting change
is partly due to having to deal with

abusive and aggressive customers
dissatisfied with their experience.33
Offshoring and nearshoring
offshoring to a location near the point
of production is reducing employment
numbers in the call centre sector in
Australia. New Zealand is emerging as
a key nearshore contact centre location
for Australian businesses due in part to
a cost discount of up to 30 percent.34
KEY IMPACTS FOR

THE WORKFORCE
Considering the changes occurring in
the individual sectors, significant effects
expected for the business services
workforce include:
Specialisation and partnerships
each of the business services
sectors is seeing more specialisation
in response to having a better
understanding of the niche needs
of customers, global connectivity
and technology innovations.
New media channels, complex
regulatory environments and
international markets all offer
opportunities for business services
providers to specialise in niche,
high value products and services.
Specifically, there is an increased
need for specialisation by the small
firms, as attempting to cover too
large a market leaves businesses
exposed and with no competitive
advantage. Specialisation does not
mean abandoning generalist skills;
willingness to engage with multiple
disciplines is still essential. In fact,
attempts to focus on core specialties
have opened up opportunities for
partnerships with other specialist
firms to provide end to end solutions
for clients. IBSA polling found 83
percent of its industry stakeholders
plan to increase operational
partnerships with other businesses.
But it is suggested that the ideal
worker of the future be T-shaped
to bring deep understanding
33 Hall (2013) Despite offshoring, operator says

Australian call centre industry doing well. (ASU)
34 Bushell-Embling (2014) NZ emerging as key
nearshoring location for Australia
of at least one field, but have

the capacity to converse in the
language of a broader range of
disciplines.35
Increasing demand for
professionals more and more jobs
are being created at the professional
level in the Business Services
Industry. Businesses increasingly
want to employ workers with higher
level VET and degree qualifications,
reflecting a deepening of skills and
knowledge required to perform
functions.
Data analysis skills there is now
a general need for business services
employees to have data analysis
skills, which have not traditionally
been present in all parts of the
industry. With the massive increases
in sensors, processing power and
volumes of data now available on
all aspects of business, all sectors
need to make the most of data to get
closer to their customers and target
services appropriately. As a result,
workers will increasingly require
abilities to interact with data, see
patterns in data, make data based
decisions, and use data to design
desired business outcomes.36
Harnessing the extended labour
force more than 30 percent of
Australian based employers already
regard temporary workers as a
key component of their long term
staffing strategy and 54 percent of
employers see temporary workers as
an ideal way to bring a particular
expertise on board.37 The Business
Services Industry is beginning to
rely more on contract and freelance
workers and consultants to meet
their business goals and respond
to skills gaps and a changing
economic environment. These
workers may be based locally
or overseas. Organisations face
challenges in - understanding what
skills and services contingent workers
can provide; making decisions
on whether to fill a role or skill
need with a contingent worker or
a full time employee; and how to

implement integrated workforce
strategies that make the most of the
benefits and reduce the risks of using
a contingent workforce.38
OCCUPATIONS
IN DEMAND
A list of Occupations in Demand is
provided in AppendixB. The list is
collated from industry intelligence
presented in this Escan on the industry,
its employment trends and its workforce.
This list contributes to workforce
development and planning strategies
highlighted in Chapter 3 and also
presents a clear relationship to
training packages.
Occupations and job roles reported
as in demand in the Business Services
Industry at IBSAs Escan 2014 industry
consultations and validation were:
frontline supervisor
organisation and workforce
development specialists
customer service and frontline inquiry
officer
general administration officer
quality and compliance auditor
manager business development
strategy
HR administrator and manager
(including diversity specialist)
OH&S manager
sustainability manager
manager and advisor social media,
and
data, records, knowledge and
information manager.
35 Institute of the Future (2011) Future work skills 2020

36 ibid
37 Hays (2013) Top 10 Talent Trends for 2013
38 Deloitte (2011) The Contingent Workforce
Business Services
19
CHAP TER 3
Identified
workforce
development
needs
CH AP TER 3
Identified workforce
development needs
HEALTHY CHANGING
WORKPLACES
A number of business services may
need to consider how to improve staff
satisfaction and work life balance to
create happier, healthier workplaces
and to retain talent. Staff turnover is
estimated to cost employers up to
$1 million per annum; reducing churn
by just 5 percent could result in a
saving of $280,000 a year for every
100 people employed.39 Supporting
employees at all levels to achieve work
life balance can pay a handsome
dividend and is central to retaining
and developing people and achieving
service commitments. Allowing a
flexible and adaptable approach
in dealing with family, ageing and
retirement, and maternity and paternity,
while providing opportunities for career
development, is essential to ensuring
the workplace is able to move with
changing needs and expectations.40
Recently, there has been a focus
on depression in the workplace.
Occupations involving high job
demands, low control, time pressure,
39 Hays (2013) Top 10 Talent Trends for 2013
40 LMA (2013) Leadership, Employment and Direction
Survey
22
long hours and shift work are

associated with depression and other ill
health. Managing these risks and skills
in regulating workloads is critical to
mitigate health risks.
Management approaches also need
to adjust to accommodate a variety
of new work environments. IBSA
consultations highlighted a skill deficit
among business services in effectively
managing outsourced contractors,
contingent workers and virtual teams.
Managers need to consider how to
engage and motivate a physically
dispersed group, including training
team members in using technology
and navigating the human resources
implications of flexible employee
arrangements. Outsourcing HR
functions means many employee
management functions once handled
by the HR department are now falling
to the line manager.
THE RISE OF THE

PROFESSIONAL
Business Services Industry sectors are
requiring more knowledge and skills
from their workers. IBSA stakeholders
indicated that higher level skills in
business development, compliance and
partnerships and broking are needed to
Chapter 3 Identified workforce development needs
support the Industry. The Department of

Employment confirms professionals will
play the strongest role in contributing
to overall employment growth with over
32.3 percent of new jobs in the next five
years being in this group. The Business
Services Industry may need to look
at new, higher level qualifications, or
pathways and articulation arrangements
with universities, to ensure the industry
has the requisite skill base.
IBSA stakeholders also highlighted
the challenges involved in mapping
qualifications when each university
has its own differently structured
requirements and expectations.
Research suggests this area needs
attention with a focus on the major
structural barriers between the
two sectors. On the other hand,
when articulation pathways involve
collaborative relationships between
VET and higher education, a structural
relationship develops that allows the
partners to engage with industry and
more effectively meet skills shortages.41
The growth in demand for higher level
skills should not be at the expense
of lower level qualifications. Lower
level qualifications are a critical
41 Paez D, Jackson A, Byrnes J, Dwyer C & Blacker J
(2012) Articulation: A clearer picture or a new view
Predicting change
entry point for large numbers of

learners, particularly those from low
socioeconomic backgrounds. Further
consideration is needed on the role of
lower level VET qualifications, including
foundation skills, as pathways to higher
qualifications and skills in the Business
Services Industry.
COST AND
CONVENIENCE
OF TRAINING
Offering training options that are cost
effective and convenient is becoming
more important to employers as the
pace of technology, business innovation
and regulatory change increases,
making some skills and knowledge
quickly redundant. Also, as the rate of
workforce turnover increases, training
investments need to be targeted to yield
productivity returns before employees
move on. ABS data show that
Administrative and Support Services,
which includes business services
sectors such as employment services,
call centres, and other administrative
services, has one of the highest staff
turnover rates, at 27 percent per year.42
Some IBSA stakeholders believe the
value of qualifications is diminishing
because the rate of job change
requires chunks of learning rather
than longer courses. Stakeholders
also highlighted that non-accredited
training can be delivered at a lower
cost and therefore can be more
desirable for employers in this high
change environment. Increased fees or
reduced subsidies, for courses are also
said to have impact on students ability
to pay for their own training.
Consultations indicated employers
want more flexible, lower cost training
options, including:
top up training, aligned to business
needs, particularly in relation to
compliance issues
recognition of prior learning (RPL),
backed by gap training provided on
the job
qualifications delivered within 3
months, and
42 ABS (2013) Labour market mobility
RTOs to collaborate to deliver

customised training options.
DIVERSITY DRIVING
INNOVATION
Leading companies around the world
are finding better ways to tap into
underutilised sources such as the female
labour force and older workers, as well
as unemployed people.43 In Australia,
with the introduction of the National
Disability Insurance Scheme beginning
in 2016, many people with disabilities
who have had difficulty accessing the
workforce will be better supported to
do so, creating a new talent pool for
business services.
Organisations increasingly see
diversity as a driver of innovation.
Research now tells us that what makes
a group intelligent and innovative is
the combination of different ages,
skills, disciplines and working and
thinking styles that members bring to
the table. Creating and managing
diversity will therefore become a
core competency for business service
organisations over the next decade.
Employees working within diverse
teams need to be able to identify and
communicate points of connection,
shared goals, priorities, values, which
transcend their differences and enable
them to build relationships and work
together effectively.44
SOCIAL MEDIA LITERACY

Many organisations have naturally
been responding to the social media
revolution, beginning to use new
tools such as wikis, blogs, discussion
boards, YouTube channels, Twitter and
Facebook to build brand awareness,
encourage global conversations
and engage with and motivate
staff. These are valuable tools, but
require sophisticated skills to be used
effectively to engage and persuade
audiences. There are also risks with
social media that users need to be
aware of. Social media encourages
horizontal collaboration and
unscripted conversations that travel

in random paths across management
hierarchies. It thereby short circuits
established hierarchies and traditional
lines of communication.45
Global management consultants
McKinsey & Co has identified a
number of personal skills required,
particularly by leaders, to capitalise on
the transformational potential of social
media, including:
creative competence authenticity,
storytelling and artistic vision
technical skills especially video
production
understanding of cross platform
dynamics and what causes messages
to go viral
an ability to build and sustain a
body of social followers
capacity to create resonance via
selective replies and linking, and
an ability to make sense of the noise
through intelligent filtering.
Fluency in visually stimulating forms
of communication and presentation of
information is a key skill that all social
media workers will need. As more user
friendly production tools are developed,
video language will become part of
the common vernacular. It has been
suggested that the next generation
of workers will need to critically read
and assess video content in the same
way we currently assess a paper or
presentation.46
As well as these operator level skills,
McKinsey highlights a number of
capabilities required at the strategic
or organisational level to respond to
the rise of social media, including
balancing vertical accountability with
horizontal collaboration; understanding
the cultural and behavioural impact of
social media; and leveraging social
media for key business functions.47
45 Mckinsey and Co (2013) Six social-media skills every

leader needs
43 PWC (2014) Annual Global CEO survey: Fit for the
future, capitalizing on global trends

47 Mckinsey and Co (2013) Six social media skills every
leader needs
Business Services
23
COMPUTATIONAL
THINKING (CT)
ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY
Data are being used and processed at

a rate never seen before. If leveraged
properly, big data can provide enormous
opportunities for value creation for
business services organisations.
Increasingly, businesses are expected

to minimise their environmental impact,
particularly as the effects of climate
change become clearer. Sustainability
practices also have benefits for
businesses in cost savings, energy
efficiency, staff engagement and gaining
a competitive edge.
CT is a problem solving process

that involves analysing and logically
organising data, data modelling,
data abstractions and simulations and
formulating problems such that computers
may assist in problem solving.48
Many more roles will require
computational thinking skills to make
sense of volumes of information. As
the language of analytics permeates
organisations, and big data move from
the realm of data scientists to everyday
business transactions, non-technical
staff will be required to organise and
interpret data and simulate scenarios
for planning and decisions making.
It is predicted that HR departments,
which currently value applicants who
are familiar with basic applications,
such as the Microsoft Office suite, will
shift their expectations and seek out
resumes that include statistical analysis
and quantitative reasoning skills.49
In this context, maths, statistics and IT
training are increasingly important.
But people need supporting core
skills that are essential dimensions of
computational thinking, including:
confidence in dealing with
complexity
persistence in working with difficult
problems
tolerance for ambiguity
the ability to deal with open ended
problems, and
the ability to communicate and work
with others to achieve a common
goal or solution.50
48 Stephenson, Chris; Valerie Barr (2011). Defining

Computational Thinking for K-12. CSTA Voice 7 (
2): 34
49 Institute for the Future op cit
50 International Society for Technology in Education and
the Computer Science Teachers Association (2011)
Operational definition of computational thinking
24
Benefits reported by businesses include:

a whole of business view that
supports innovation and improvement
ideas from all levels in the enterprise
reduced energy and fuel costs
skilled, knowledgeable and engaged
workers who perform consistently to
deliver quality products on time
reduced waste disposal and trade
waste costs
improved processes and efficiency
avoiding or reducing the number of
incidents, emergencies or injuries
reduced risks of costs from legal
proceedings, compensation,
rehabilitation, clean up,
environmental mitigation
improved profile and reduced risk
of negative public opinion, and
opportunities in green markets
estimated to reach a value of
$US2.7 trillion per year globally
by 2020.51
Business leaders need to understand what
sustainability practices would be effective
in their business and plan how to put them
into practice, whether it is using less paper
or electricity, collecting and recycling
waste materials, or conserving water.
Sustainability skills units and learning
resources have been developed to train
business managers, small and micro
businesses and other staff in sustainability
practices. There is increasing demand
in large businesses and governments
for individuals who can coordinate
sustainability practices. Sustainability
coordinators and environmental managers
require a deeper level of understanding
about waste, energy use and the business
advantages of sustainable practices.
51 Manufacturing Skills Australia (2014)
sustainabilityskills.net.au
Identified workforce development needs
There is increasing
demand in large businesses
and governments for
individuals who can
coordinate sustainability
practices.
CHAP TER 4
Current
impact of
training
packages
CH AP TER 4
Current impact
of training packages
BUSINESS SERVICES
TRAINING PACKAGE (BSB)
A new suite of qualifications in the
Leadership and Management stream
has been developed, which includes
many of the soft skills industry requires:
two new qualifications in Project
Management, which include a
restructure of the Advanced Diploma
and the introduction of a Graduate
Diploma, to better align the training
package qualifications with the
standards of the major industry
bodies, and
a Graduate Certificate and four
Skill Sets in Diversity are included,
for those wishing to advance their
learning in this area, to assist human
resource professionals and emerging
leaders to successfully innovate using
workforce diversity.
As a result, the Package now has forty
new units of competency, five new
skill sets and seven new qualifications,
which reflect industry and enterprise
skill requirements, as well as local and
international trends.
Continuous improvement in 2015 will look
at the changing Marketing and Advertising
sectors to ensure units of competency and
qualifications meet industrys requirements.
28
Small Business units and qualifications will

also be reviewed to ensure the Package
not only encourages the creation of small
and micro business, but also supports the
skill needs of the many small business
owners and operators.
The governance stream will be
considered in 2015 to make sure it
reflects the needs of local sporting
clubs, school councils and not for
profit organisations, as well as the
corporate sector.
Uptake of training packages

The following data are reported from the
annual NCVER VET Provider Collection
and the quarterly Apprentice and Trainee
Collection; these data report publicly
funded training and fee for service VET
provided by public institutions. They will
assist consideration of trends in the uptake
and use of publicly funded VET in IBSAs
Training Packages.
The tables and figures should be read
with an understanding that significant
amounts of training also occur outside the
publicly funded VET system including:
fee for service training in national
qualifications provided by private
training providers
inhouse training in national
Chapter 4 Current impact of training packages
qualifications delivered by
enterprise RTOs, and
non-accredited training conducted
inhouse or by external providers.
Attempts to directly correlate tables of
commencement and completion should
be avoided because:
an enrolment is recorded for each
year the course is active multiple
enrolments are recorded when a
course is undertaken over more than
one year, and
completions are not uniformly
reported, ie some jurisdictions only
report completions when they award
a certificate (rather than a Statement
of Attainment) and this is only done
when requested and paid for by the
completing student.
These factors may result in an overreporting of enrolments and underreporting of completions.
Business Services Training Package

enrolment characteristics
The Business Services Training Package
remains the most heavily used of all
IBSA Training Packages for publically
funded VET, accounting for over
Predicting change
half of all IBSA training activity in

2013. However, 2013 saw significant
reduction in enrolments, down 19

percent on 2012. Growth had already
slowed by 2012 after strong growth in

the years 2010-2011; see Figure 10.
Figure 10: Business Services enrolments and annual percentage change, 2010-13
263,328
275,137
222,495
207,683
2010
26.8%
4.5%
-19.1%
2011
2012
2013
Source: VOCSTATS <http://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/portal/vetdataportal/data/menu/vocstats/>, extracted on 16/07/2014.
Figure 11: Business Services qualifications completed and annual percentage change, 2010-13
96,114
82,367
71,251
65,862
2010
25.1%
16.7%
-25.9%
2011
2012
2013
Source: VOCSTATS <http://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/portal/vetdataportal/data/menu/vocstats/>, extracted on 16/07/2014 2013 completions provided by NCVER on 29/07/2014
will be revised upwards from time to time.
Qualifications completed in Business

Services had an average annual increase
of 2.7 percent between 2010 and 2013
while completions data for 2013 show they
were much lower than those for 2012.
Business Services qualification enrolments
declined in 2013 for all qualification
levels. Enrolments in Certificate I was
very low (about 1,600) and decreasing.
Enrolments in Certificate II and III
decreased between 2011 and 2013,

while enrolments in Certificate IV and
higher level qualifications increased from
2010 to 2012 then declined in 2013.
The highest enrolments in 2013 were in
Certificate IV.
Changes to state based funding
arrangements and Commonwealth
incentives for apprentices and trainees
have had an impact on enrolment data.
Low funding levels and changes to

incentives have had a negative impact
on Business Services enrolments.
Other reasons for the decline may
include competition from uncapped
higher education places along with
increased VET fees; greater use of
skills sets of specific units, rather than
full qualifications; and the removal of
incentives for training existing workers.
Business Services
29
Figure 12: Business Services enrolments by qualification level, 2010-13

120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
2010
2011
20,000
2012
2013
0
Certificate I
Certificate II
Certificate III
Certificate IV
Diploma
or higher
Figure 13: Business Services enrolments by student remoteness region, 2010-13

200,000
180,000
160,000
140,000
120,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
2010
60,000
2011
40,000
2012
20,000
2013
0
Major cities
Inner
regional
Outer
regional
Remote and
very remote
Overseas and
unknown

Note: Data for 2010 is based on the Student Remoteness Region 2006 (ARIA+) while data for 2011 to 2013 are based on the Student Remoteness Region 2011 (ARIA+).
30
Predicting change
For 2013, the five qualifications with

the highest enrolments represented
46.1 percent of total course enrolments
in the BSB Training Package. These
qualifications are listed below with
the total number of enrolments in 2013
in brackets.
Certificate III in Business
Administration (26,924)
Certificate II in Business (22,629)
Diploma of Management (21,533)
Just over half the people who enrol in

a Business Services VET qualification
do not have any other post school
qualification, while around 8 percent
already have a degree or higher
qualification, see Figure 14.
Certificate IV in Frontline
Management (16,315)
Certificate IV in Business (15,085)
Figure 13 shows enrolments in Business
Services qualifications decreased in
2013 for all regions from major cities
to remote locations. Most Business
Services enrolments by a factor of
between two and three, come from
students in major cities.
The age group with the most

participants in these qualifications
is the 30 to 39 years. Enrolments in
all age groups dropped in 2013.
Figure 14: Business Services enrolments by participants previous highest education, 2010-13
6%
8%
23%
Bachelor degree/Higher degree level (8%)
2%
Advanced diploma/Associate degree (2%)

Diploma (6%)
6%
Certificate IV (9%)
Certificate III (15%)
9%
29%
Certificate II (2%)
Certificate I (0%)
15%
Year 12 (29%)
Year 11 or below (23%)
Unknown or misc (6%)
2%
Figure 15: Business Services enrolments by age group, 2010-13

60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
2010
20,000
2011
10,000
2012
2013
0
19 years and
younger
20to 24
years
25 to 29
years
30 to 39
years
40 to 49
years
50 to 59
years
60 years
and over
Business Services
31
Women still outnumber men in Business

Services qualifications by a factor of
2 to 1. This has not changed

significantly over the past four years.
Figure 16: Business Services enrolments by gender, 2010-13

36.2%
35.5%
35.2%
33.9%
% Male
70,504
93,534
99,583
78,428
2010
2011
2012
2013
Female
Male
The vast majority of Business Services

qualifications are undertaken part time,
with only 16 percent being undertaken
undertaking courses online or remotely

increased from 12 percent in 2011
to 19 percent in 2013.
full time. College or campus based

delivery is still the preferred option,
however, the number of learners
Figure 17: Business Services enrolments by delivery mode, 2013
10%
College/Campus based
18%
Online/remote access
53%
Employment based
Other
19%
Table 3 shows the percentage

of students enrolling in Business
Services qualifications who identify
as Indigenous is similar to the overall
percentage for all IBSA qualification

enrolments. Highest numbers of
Indigenous people were enrolled in
Certificate II in Business and Certificate
III in Business. Indigenous people

made up most of the student group
in the Certificate IV and Diploma of
Business (Governance).
Table 3: Percentage of enrolments by Indigenous students in Business Services and all IBSA
qualifications, 2010-13
Business Services
2010
2011
2012
2013
Percentage of BSB enrolments by Indigenous students
4.2%
3.9%
3.9%
4.3%
Percentage of all IBSA enrolments by Indigenous students
4.4%
4.0%
4.0%
4.2%
32
Predicting change
Figure 18 shows Apprenticeship and

Traineeship activity in Business Services
qualifications between 2010 and
2013. Numbers for In Training relate
to apprentices and trainees whose
training contract status was In Training
at the end of each calendar year.

Numbers for Commenced, Completed
and Cancellations/Withdrawals are
full year figures. Consistent with the
drop in enrolments generally, there has
been a large decrease in the numbers
of Apprentice and Trainee training

contracts - Commenced and In Training
- in Business Services qualifications
between 2012 and 2013. Completed
training contracts also decreased in
2013.
Figure 18: Apprenticeships and traineeships in Business Services qualifications by training contract status
(Commenced, Completed, Cancellations/Withdrawals and In Training), 2010-13
Commenced
Completed
Cancellations/Withdrawals
In Training
90,000
75,000
60,000
45,000
30,000
15,000
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
Source: Apprentice and Trainee Collection from VOCSTATS <http://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/portal/vetdataportal/data/menu/vocstats/> extracted on 7/8//2014.
Notes specific to Apprenticeship and Traineeship statistics: Figures are based on date of effect rather than the date of processing. Due to lags in reporting and processing, the most
recent figures (generally those for the last 7 quarters or 2 years) are estimates and are subject to revision.
Figure 19: Persons employed in IBSA Business Services Clerical and Administrative Worker, Census 2011
Healthcare and social assistance
Public administration and safety
Professional, scientific and technical services
Manufacturing
Education and training
Construction
Wholesale trade
Retail trade
Transport, Postal and Warehousing
Financial and insurance services
0
20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 140000 160000
Source ABS, 2011 Census of Population and Housing, One digit ANZSIC by four digit ANZSCO
BUSINESS SERVICES SKILLS

EMPLOYMENT PROFILE
It is important to note that individuals
trained in skills delivered through the
Business Services Training Package
are employed in high numbers across
the economy. For example, analysis of

the employment profile for clerical and
administrative occupations requiring
BSB skills shows these workers
are employed in large numbers in
sectors outside the Business Services
Industry. They are most prevalent in
the healthcare and social assistance,
public administration and safety

and professional, scientific and
technical services industries; see
Figure 19. These industries are
particularly heavy employers of
general clerks, receptionists, office
managers and program and
project administrators.
Business Services
33
Similarly, the BSB Training Package

delivers skills to workers in the three
most common occupations in the
contact centre sector inquiry clerks,
telemarketers and call or contact centre

workers. However, these occupations
are employed across a wide range
of industries and are particularly
heavily used by Governments, Other

Administration Services (which includes
call centres), Banks, Telecommunications
Services and Insurers; see Figure 20.
Figure 20: Inquiry Clerks, Call or Contact Centre Workers or Telemarketers highest employing Industries,
2011 Census
Central government administration
Other administrative services
Telecommunications services
Local government administration
Banks
Health and general insurance
State government administration
Tertiary education
Auxilary finance and investment services
Motor vehicle retailing
0
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000
Source: ABS, 2011 Census of Population and Housing, Three digit ANZSIC by four digit ANZSCO
OUTLOOK FOR TRAINING

In the next 18 months to 2 years,
training in the Business Services
Industry needs to take account of
the workforce trends identified in
this Escan, by focusing on the
priority issues:
Digital skills Business Services
Industry sectors need to have the
digital and social media skills
to effectively engage customers
and motivate staff. Video design,
production and interpretation is
likely to be a key area requiring skill
development in coming years.
Data analysis skills and
computational thinking with
more and more data available,

the ability to analyse and logically
organise data and undertake data
modelling, data abstractions and
simulations will become a core
rather than specialised skill.
Communication skills while
training packages have recently
been updated to include a greater
34
focus on soft skills, this area will

need a continued focus. Different
ways of working and a greater
requirement for strong skills in
customer service and building
partnerships, means both managers
and workers need to be able
to collaborate, reading social
cues and conducting transparent
communication.
Management skills the new
Graduate Certificate and Skills
Sets on Diversity Management
respond to an unmet need in the
HR area. However, other areas
of management may also need
attention. Outsourcing HR functions,
different styles of working and
a focus on healthy workplaces,
means line managers have more
complex people management
responsibilities, from training and
stress management to building high
performing virtual teams.
Higher level skills moving
simple, process jobs offshore,
and improvements in technology
allowing business services customers
to access self help for more simple

advisory services, means the
industry now needs more people
with higher order skills, in critical
thinking, analysis and complex
problem solving.
Environmental sustainability
skills increasingly, all
businesses are expected to
minimise their environmental
impact, particularly
as the effects of climate
change become clearer.
Demand for individuals with
the skills to coordinate
organisations sustainability
practices will increase.
Training package links with
other industries business
services skills are utilised across
the economy and in high numbers
in government, healthcare and
financial and insurance services.
The BSB Training Package needs
to be responsive to changes and
perspectives in these industries.
CHAP TER 5
Future
directions
CH AP TER 5
Future directions
The Business Services Industry has benefited from long periods of growth and, as the economy
strengthens and outsourcing trends continue, the two year outlook is positive, if a little subdued.
The industry will need to gear up for a

number of challenges on the horizon
including the continued quietening of
the mining boom, government budget
restraints, changes in needs and
expectations of customers and deeper
global engagement. Business services

are responding to these demands
by forging business partnerships,
specialising in niche areas, getting
closer to customers through their
information and data, and harnessing
the contingent workforce. These

issues all impact the shape and skills
of the business services workforce.
The following table summarises the
workforce development challenges in
this industry.
Table 4: Workforce development challenges
Workforce development
challenge:
Availability and use of large
volumes of customer data
Impacts:
Critical future skills:
All businesses
Language of analytics
Mathematics, statistics
Computational thinking
IT strategic and operational
Cyber security
Written and verbal communication skills
The emergence of social

media as a key business
tool
All businesses
Creative competence (authenticity, storytelling and

artistic vision)
Technical skills (especially video production)
Social media dynamics
Ethics and risk management
38
Chapter 5 Future directions
Predicting change
Workforce development
challenge:
Impacts:
Critical future skills:
Changing workplaces,
including focus on healthy
workplaces to retain
workers
All businesses
Situation (frontline) management

Industrial relations
Communication and interpersonal skills
Mentoring and coaching
Promoting and supporting diversity
Using technology for communication and staff
engagement
Demand for high-level skills

and professionals
All businesses, VET

providers and universities
Critical thinking
Business literacy
Problem solving
Specialised skills within high-value niche areas
Drive for environmental

sustainability
All businesses
PRIORITIES FOR IBSA

TRAINING PACKAGES
The following priorities could be
considered for the Business Services
Training Package:
Integrate data analysis skills into
relevant qualifications in the Package
Consider adjustments to the BSB
Training Package to respond to
emerging industry skill needs for skill
sets in: risk, change management
and integration, and use of big data
by business managers, and
Specifically consider the skills needs
of high volume BSB Training Package
users, including public administration
and safety, government, healthcare
and social assistance and financial
services, in future adjustments.
Environmental management, control and reporting
SUPPORTING
A RESPONSIVE
NATIONAL VET SYSTEM
In supporting industry skilling the
following could be considered for the
national skills system:
Encourage the university sector
and the VET sector to work together
to create better articulation
pathways in Business Services
Industry sectors
Encourage business services

employers to:
provide management skills to new
managers, including mentoring
and coaching
take up new skill sets and
qualifications in managing
diversity, and
provide general training to all
staff on the language of analytics
and making the best use of
customer data.
Engage with industry to achieve

greater provision of cost effective
training, including RPL and gap
training
Ensure use of accredited training
and fees are not a disincentive for
employers and students
All business services depend strongly on the quality of the people they employ, to gain and
retain clients - brand recognition and customer service are critical . . . business services fortunes
are strongly linked to the state of the economy and business confidence.
Business Services
39
Appendices
APPEN D IX A
Methodology
and bibliography
METHODOLOGY AND STAKEHOLDER INPUT
Statistical information for this report was
gathered through a desktop research
process from a range of sources as
indicated in the bibliography.
Further input into this Escan was
gathered from industry stakeholders via
a series of consultation forums held in
2014. Forums were held in Adelaide,
Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth,
Sydney, Hobart and Darwin, and a
webinar gathered views from
regional stakeholders.
Survey tools were used at each
forum to gather information from
participants, including advice on
occupations in demand.
This Escan was validated by IBSAs Sector
Advisory Committee in October 2014.
The following organisations have made
valuable contributions to this Escan:
3-AAA Training & Consulting Pty Ltd
Academy IT
ACAE
Adult Education and Vocational Training

Institute (AEVTI)
Animal Industries Resource Centre
Arts Centre Melbourne
Arts Communications Finance Industries
and Property Services ITAB NSW
Arts NT
Association of Accounting Technicians
Association of Superannuation Funds of
Australia (ASFA)
AUCTUS Business Training and
Consulting
Ausdance NSW
AuSQ
Australian Adelaide International
College Pty Ltd
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Business Academy
Australian Community Logistics
Australian Computer Society (ACS)
Access Training Centre

Acropolis Now Pty Ltd
Australian Council for Educational

Research (ACER)
Adelaide College of Technical

Education
Australian Council for Private Education

and Training (ACPET)
42
Appendix A Methodology and bibliography
Australian Directors Guild

Australian Entertainment Industry
Association
Australian Financial Markets
Association
Australian Human Resources Institute
(AHRI)
Australian Industry Group (AiG)
Australian Industry Trade College
Australian Information Industry
Association (AIIA)
Australian Institute of Management
Australian Institute of Technology
Transfer
Australian Library and Information
Association
Australian Manufacturing Workers
Union (AMWU) Print
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Australian Medical Association (WA)
Australian Pacific College
Australian Professional Skills Institute
(APSI)
Australian Services Union
Predicting change
Australian Skills Quality Authority
Charles Darwin University
Entropy Enterprises
Australian Vocational Education &

Training Academy (AVETA)
CHARTTES Cultural, Recreation &

Tourism Training
Enzumo
Australis Institute of Technology and

Education (AITE)
Advisory Council, NT
B Trained
Baking Industry Training Australia
Chemene Sinson, Consultant

Chisholm Institute
Evocca College
Evolution
Evolve Training Solutions
Excel Training
Baptist Care
Cisco Networking Academy ANZ and

Pacific Islands
Barrington Training Services
CITT
Betterlink Group
City of Unley
Blended Learning International
College of Design and Social Context
BMC
College of Lifelong Learning Pty Ltd
Bookkeeping Institute of Australia Pty

Ltd
Combined Team Services
Financial Administrative and

Professional Services Training Council
WA
Commercial Manager TIS
Financial Planning Association Australia
Communicare Academy
Financial Services Academy
Community College Gippsland
Financial Services Institute of

Australasia (FINSIA)
Booth College, The Salvation Army

Box Hill Institute
BRACE Education and Training
Bridge Business College
Browns Mart Arts Ltd
BSA Limited & BSA Advanced Learning
Bunyip & Associates Pty Ltd
Business Foundations Inc.
Business Planning Pty Ltd representing
Australian Marketing Institute
Business SA
Business Skills Viability
Business Solutions and Consulting
Business Transformation Solutions
Concept Training Australia
Executive Assistant Network

Federation University
Finance Sector Union
Finance Sector Union (FSU)
Corrugated Iron Youth Arts
Financial, Administrative and

Professional Services Training Council
Incorporated
COT Software and Solutions
Fire & Rescue NSW
Crown Institute of Business and

Technology
Flex Training Services
Corridors Training Inc.
CSH&E Training Council, WA

CTQ
Cultural Infusion
Culturally Make a Difference
Curtin University
CWU Australia
Fourth Force Pty Ltd

Fuji Xerox Australia Pty Limited
FuturePrint
Futures Now, WA
Futurum Australia
FYI Training
Darwin Entertainment Centre
Game Developers Association of

Australia (GDAA)
Darwin Festival
Global Business Training
DDLS
Gold Coast Institute of TAFE
Department of Culture and the Arts, WA
Goodstart
Centacare
Department of Education and Early

Childhood Development (DEECD), SA
Great Southern Institute of Technology

(WA) (GSIT)
Central Coast Community College
Department of Industry (DOI)
Greencross Vets
Central Institute of Technology
Diane Appleby Jewellery
Group Training Australia (SA)
Centre for Adult Education
Dixi Joy Bankier, Producer
Guildhouse
CEO Tasmania
DOME Association
Hargraves Institute
Challenger Institute of Technology
Durban International College Pty Ltd
Chamber of Commerce NT
Edutainer
Health Consumers Action Group WA

Inc.
C Y OConnor Institute
Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT)
Captain Cook College
Career Lounge
Cemons Skills Centre
Heritage Bank
Business Services
43
Holmesglen Institute
Melissa Mahoney Legal College
Polytechnic West
Human Services Training Advisory

Council, NT
Mentor Education
Precision Group (Australia) Pty Ltd
Merage Global Institute of Technology
Print NZ
Metropolitan Fire Brigade
Printing Industries Association of

Australia
Hunter TAFE
Illawarra ITeC
Independent Schools Victoria
Industrial Foundation for Accident
Prevention (IFAP)
Insources
Institute for Civic Leadership
Institute of Certified Bookkeepers
Institute of Project Management
Institute of Public Accountants
Insurance Australia Group
Milcom Communication
Montague Consulting
Murray College of Health Education
Music Council of Australia
Musicians Union of Australia
National Association for the Visual Arts
National Corporate Training Pty Ltd
National Training and Solutions
Provider Pty Ltd
Productivity Partners Pty Ltd

Progressive Training (WA) Pty Ltd
PTA
Queensland Performing Arts Centre
Queensland Police Service
Radio Adelaide
Ramsden Telecommunications Training
Ratio
National Training Organisation, NSW
River Murray Training
Natwide Personnel
RMIT University
Neale Price, Contract Trainer, Assessor
Royal Life Saving Society SA
Ness Cotton Designs
Rubric Training Solutions
New Horizons
Safety Institute of Australia
News Limited
Salmat
Newskills Limited
Sanity Productions
North Coast TAFE
SAS Group
Northern Centre for Contemporary Art
Screen West
Koolat Safety
Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE

(NMIT)
Self-Managed Superannuation Funds

Association
Kormilda College
Northern Sydney Institute TAFE
Serco Global Services Australia
Lane Print Group
Northwest Pty Ltd
Leap training
NT Writers Centre
Service Industries Training Advisory

Council, NT
Learning Options
Oceania Polytechnic Institute of

Education
Irene Coleiro, Consultant

Jasmine Education group Pty Ltd
Jenard Training
John Dwyer, Consultant
Judy MacGraw Consulting
Kaplan Professional
Kate Hanson Training and Assessment
Kingston International College
Kondinin Group Industry Training
Lifetimes & Milestones

Lightmare Studios
Live Performance Australia
Loans Cafe
Locher and Associates
Mancino Catering Services
Marine Rescue NSW
Master Electricians Australia
Mastermind Group
Matlin Professional Development
Media Makeup
Office of Training and Skills

Commission
Open Channel Co-Operative Ltd.
Open Colleges
Service Skills SA
SKILLED Group Training Services
Skills Strategies International
Skills Tasmania
Optimi Digital
Society of Motion Picture and Television

Engineers
Outpost Consulting
Sorco Vocational Services
Ozford College of Business
South Western Sydney Institute of TAFE
Pathways Training & Placements Pty Ltd
Southern Cross Education Institute

(SCEI)
Personal Injury Education Foundation

Pilbara Institute
Pinnacle Learning Institute of Australia
Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance
44
Service Skills Australia
Spec Training
Spectrum Organisations
Spirelight Brand Media Management
Predicting change
SSMI Group (Consultant)

St George Institute of Studies
St Peters Institute
Star Training & Assessing
State Theatre Centre of Western
Australia
Sterling Business College
StoryProjects.com.au
Strathfield College
Super Retail Group
Swinburne University
Sydney Business College
Sydney Community College (ACE)
Sydney School of Business Technology
(SSBT)
TAFE Illawarra
TAFE NSW
TAFE QLD
TAFE SA
TAFE Western
Tas TAFE
Technorama
Telstra
The Australian and New Zealand

Institute of Insurance and Finance
(ANZIIF)
The Smith Family
Thiess, Services Division
Think: Education Group
Tim Dein @ Associates
TKM Institute
Total Business Services
& Training
Training and Skills Commission, SA
Training Connections
Training Th@t Works
Trainme4work
Trainsmart Australia
Transport for NSW
Unique International College
University Preparation College
Vanguard Visions
VET Development Centre
VET Network Australia
Victorian Curriculum & Assessment

Authority (VCAA)
Victorian WorkCover Authority
Virtu Design Institute
Viva College
Vocation
Vocational Resources Australia
WA Department of Training and
Workforce Development (WADTWD)
Walkley Foundation for Journalism
West Coast Institute
Western Australian Academy of
Performing Arts (WAAPA)
Western Australian Institute of Translators
and Interpreters, Inc (WAITI)
Windsor Institute of Commerce
Wisdom Learning Pty Ltd
Wise Education Group
Women in Film and Television
Workforce Blue Print
YWCA of Canberra
Vet Prep Australia Pty Ltd

Victoria University
Business Services
45
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Business Services
47
APPEN D IX B
Business Services Industry

Occupations in demand
IBSA reports critical occupations in demand to government and industry stakeholders.
This alphabetical list reflects

demand in the Business Services
Industry for occupations and job
roles reported at IBSAs Escan
industry consultations and validations
conducted in 2014.
Underpinning industry intelligence

and research were also incorporated
into this list.
Qualifications that correspond to
the occupations in demand are also
provided. The occupations and job
roles in bold represent newly

reported occupations in demand.
Where a training package is newly
endorsed, qualifications will be
added as they become available.
Table 5: Business Services occupations in demand
ANZSCO
Occupation/
Job Role
Training Package Qualification
Business Services
149211
511112
48
Contact centre
manager
Contact centre
workers
BSB30412
Certificate IV in Customer Contact
BSB50307
Diploma of Customer Contact
BSB50401
Diploma of Business Management
BSB30211
Certificate III in Customer Contact
BSB40312
Certificate IV in Customer Contact
PSPSS00024
Operate in Customer Contact Environment

Skill Set
Appendix B Business Services Industry Occupations in demand
Predicting change
ANZSCO
511111
511112
132111
132111
Occupation/
Job Role
Contract or program
project manager
Corporate services
manager
Corporate social
responsibility
manager
BSB41513
Certificate IV in Project Management Practice
BSB51413
Diploma of Project Management
BSB60707
Advanced Diploma of Project Management
BSB51107
Diploma of Management
BSB50207
Diploma of Business
BSB60407
Advanced Diploma of Management
BSB51107
BSB50207
Diploma of Business
BSB60407
521212
Court clerk and legal

support
BSB40110
Certificate IV in Legal Services
5412
Customer service and

frontline
inquiry officer
BSB30412
Certificate III in Business Administration
BSB40507
Certificate IV in Business Administration
BSB50407
Diploma in Business Administration
BSB40812
Certificate IV in Frontline Management
BSB50311
Diploma of Customer Contact
BSB30412
Certificate III in Business Administration
BSB40507
Certificate IV in Business Administration
BSB50407
Diploma in Business Administration
BSB51107
BSB50207
Diploma of Business
BSB60407
BSB41013
Certificate IV in Human Resources
BSB50613
Diploma of Human Resources Management
BSB60907

(Human Resources)
BSB51107
BSB60407
149212
133512
Frontline supervisor
5121
531111
111211
599411
132311
224711
224712
General
administrative officer
General manager and

business owner
Human resource
administrator and
manager
Management and
organisation analysts
Business Services
49
ANZSCO
224214
224999
131112
551111
225112
224113
225113
111211
131112
13112
131112
131113
Occupation/
Job Role
Manager data
and records
BSB40212
Certificate IV in Business
BSB41707
Certificate IV in Record Keeping
BSB50207
Diploma of Business
BSB51707
Diploma of Record Keeping
BSB60207
Advanced Diploma of Business
BSB60807
Advanced Diploma
of Record Keeping
Manager and broker

client accounts
BSB51107
BSB50207
Diploma of Business
Manager and
analyst market
research and
big data
BSB41307
Certificate IV in Marketing
BSB51207
Diploma of Marketing
BSB60507
Advanced Diploma of Marketing
Manager business
development and
strategy
BSB51107
BSB50207
Diploma of Business
Manager and advisor

social media
BSB50107
Diploma of Advertising
ICT10
Also see ICT Industry Escan
Manager advertising,
sales and public
relations
BSB40107
Certificate IV in Advertising
BSB40610
Certificate IV in Business Sales
BSB41307
BSB50107
Diploma of Advertising
BSB51207
BSB60507
BSB41307
BSB51207
BSB60507
BSB50407
Diploma of Business Administration
BSB50207
Diploma of Business
BSB60407
BSB60207
131114
225112
5121
5122
50
Market research
analyst
Office and practice

manager
Appendix B Business Services Industry Occupations in demand
Predicting change
ANZSCO
Occupation/
Job Role
132311
OH&S manager
BSB51312
Diploma of Work Health and Safety
BSB60612
Advanced Diploma of Work Health and Safety
BSB30712
Certificate III in Work Health and Safety
BSB41412
Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety
BSB51107
BSB50407
BSB60407
BSB60207
BSB50407
BSB51107
BSB51607
Diploma of Quality Auditing
BSB60407
BSB51107
Diploma of Management, including units on

Business continuity and sustainability
BSB60407
Advanced Diploma of Management, including

units on Business continuity and sustainability
BSB51207
BSB60507
251312
224712
223111
221213
221214
234312
234399
OH&S Officer
Organisation change
and workforce
development specialist
Quality and
compliance auditor
Sustainability
manager
251311
225113
Strategic Marketer
Business Services
51
APPEN D IX C
Business Services
NCVER data
The following data are reported from the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research
(NCVER) VOCSTATS data warehouse, which includes data from the national annual VET Provider
Collection and the quarterly national Apprentice and Trainee Collection.
ABOUT NCVER DATA

These collections bring together
data on publicly funded training
and fee for service VET provided by
public institutions.
The tables and figures should be read
with an understanding that significant
amounts of training in national
qualifications also occurs outside the
publicly funded VET system including:
fee for-service training in national
qualifications provided by private
training providers
inhouse training in national
qualifications delivered by enterprise
RTOs, and
other nationally recognised or
non-accredited training conducted
inhouse or by external providers.
Consistent with NCVER reporting,
the tables and figures also exclude
delivery undertaken at overseas
52
campuses of Australian VET institutions,

credit transfer and VET delivered in
schools, where the delivery has
been undertaken by schools.
Completions data in this report
include all reported completions
regardless of whether the qualification
was reported to NCVER as Issued
or Not Issued. While the vast majority
of reported qualification completions
are reported as Issued, significant
numbers of students complete a
qualification but do not request that
their qualification certificate be
issued. Students may have to pay
a fee to have the certificate issued.
It is likely that reporting of
qualifications issued is more
comprehensive than that for
qualifications that are not issued.
While the earlier 2012 IBSA-NCVER
Escan (AppendixC) referred to
qualifications issued, that data related
to all reported qualification completions,
as did Escan 2014 and as does this
Appendix C Business Services NCVER data
years Escan. Hence the following data

are comparable with that included
in previous Escans but the description
has been updated to refer to
qualifications completed.
Completions data are subject to
upwards revision as providers report
to NCVER.
Attempts to directly correlate or
compare tables of commencements or
enrolments and completions should be
avoided because:
An enrolment in a qualification
is recorded for each year the
students enrolment is active the
same qualification enrolment is
counted every year the student is
undertaking the course. This over
counts enrolments when compared
with completions as a completion
can occur only once for a students
enrolment in a qualification,
regardless of how long the student
takes to complete the qualification.
Predicting change
There are different expected

timespans between enrolment
and completion for different
qualifications and there are
differences in the time an individual
student may take to complete a
particular qualification. Many
qualifications take more than one
year to complete. There is no clear
link between an enrolment figure for
one time period and a completion
figure for another period.
Completions are not uniformly
reported. Some training
organisations and jurisdictions

mainly report completions when a
certificate, rather than a Statement
of Attainment, is awarded.
Completions may thus be under
reported or there may be delays
in reporting to reflect delays in
issuing certificates.
Note: consistent with previous versions of this NCVER
Data Report, IBSA qualifications for which enrolments
have never been reported to the national VET Provider
Collection by any training provider are not included in
this Appendix.
BSB Business Services ENROLMENTS

ADMINISTRATION
QUALIFICATIONS WITH
ZERO ENROLMENTS
Qualifications with zero enrolments were
reported to the national collection as
having either publicly funded or feeforservice activity, up to the end of 2013,
by at least one training organisation
or jurisdiction, but did not have any
enrolments in publicly funded training
and fee-for-service VET provided by
public institutions. It is important to note
that significant amounts of training occur
outside the publicly funded VET system.
2010
2011
2012
2013
BSB30412, BSB30407, BSB30201 Certificate III in Business

Administration
27,271
29,994
30,488
26,924
BSB40507, BSB40201, BSA40197 Certificate IV in Business

Administration
9,163
19,614
20,965
12,309
BSB50407, BSB50201, BSA50100, BSA50197 Diploma of

Business Administration
3,331
4,455
5,780
5,184
ADVERTISING
BSB40107, BSB40601 Certificate IV in Advertising
526
422
392
339
BSB50107, BSB50601 Diploma of Advertising
436
318
289
152
BSB60110, BSB60107, BSB60501 Advanced Diploma of

Advertising
178
118
114
110
AUDITING
BSB51607, BSB51904 Diploma of Quality Auditing

BUSINESS
248
345
569
567
BSB10112, BSB10107, BSB10101 Certificate I in Business
4,138
3,953
2,970
1,622
BSB20112, BSB20107, BSB20101 Certificate II in Business
33,105
35,922
31,133
22,629
Business Services
53
2010
2011
2012
2013
16,579
18,857
19,483
13,973
BSB40212, BSB40207, BSB40101 Certificate IV in Business
7,317
10,915
14,131
15,085
BSB50207, BSB50101 Diploma of Business
4,161
6,205
7,835
5,451
BSB60207 Advanced Diploma of Business
219
206
389
171
BSB30112, BSB30110, BSB30107, BSB30101 Certificate III

in Business
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT/ SALES
BSB40610, BSB40607 Certificate IV in Business Sales

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT (see also Frontline Management)
1,039
BSB41101 Certificate IV in Business Management

BSB50401 Diploma of Business Management
CUSTOMER CONTACT
1,719
2,523
4,570
64
12
304
79
19
BSB20211, BSB20207 Certificate II in Customer Contact
1,154
2,428
2,409
877
BSB30211, BSB30207 Certificate III in Customer Contact
8,414
9,638
7,868
3,735
345
304
476
981
1,498
4,286
6,700
5,061
74
33
11
BSB30912, BSB30907 Certificate III in Business Administration

(Education)
BSB40312, BSB40311, BSB40307 Certificate IV in Customer
Contact
BSB50311, BSB50307 Diploma of Customer Contact
FRANCHISING
BSB50507 Diploma of Franchising

FRONTLINE MANAGEMENT
BSB31207, BSB30504, BSB30501 Certificate III in Frontline
Management
BSB40812, BSB40807, BSB41004, BSB41001 Certificate IV in
Frontline Management
54
11
67
40
1,260
1,608
430
29
12,822
16,608
18,498
16,315
Predicting change

BSB51004, BSB51001 Diploma of Business (Frontline
Management)
BSB51107 Diploma of Management
BSB60407 Advanced Diploma of Management
GOVERNANCE
2011
2012
2013
200
117
37
19,013
31,086
30,922
21,533
2,410
3,266
3,581
2,298
BSB40907, BSB40901 Certificate IV in Governance

BSB41910, BSB41907 Certificate IV in Business (Governance)
BSB50710, BSB50707, BSB50901 Diploma of Business
(Governance)
HUMAN RESOURCES
2010
79
21
24
20
215
138
155
140
16
15
14
36
BSB41013, BSB41007, BSB40801 Certificate IV in Human

Resources
4,261
4,678
5,024
4,499
BSB50613, BSB50607, BSB50801 Diploma of Human

Resources Management
4,319
4,824
5,824
6,401
404
412
523
397
BSB60907, BSB60301 Advanced Diploma of Management

(Human Resources)
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
BSB30612, BSB30607, BSB30804 Certificate III in International

Trade
131
103
65
74
BSB41107, BSB42004 Certificate IV in International Trade
687
933
850
602
1,514
1,138
1,008
883
BSB50807, BSB52004 Diploma of International Business

LEGAL
BSB31012, BSB31007, BSA30200 Certificate III in Business
Administration (Legal)
1,289
1,271
1,277
1,198
BSB40110, BSB41207, BSA40200 Certificate IV in Legal

Services
466
528
813
891
BSB50110, BSB51007, BSA50200 Diploma of Legal Services
178
199
256
386
Business Services
55

MARKETING
2010
2011
2012
2013
BSB41307, BSB40701 Certificate IV in Marketing
2,580
2,306
2,223
1,998
BSB51207, BSB50701 Diploma of Marketing
2,026
2,040
2,055
2,087
598
585
521
494
BSB60507, BSB60601 Advanced Diploma of Marketing

MEDICAL

Administration (Medical)
MICRO BUSINESS
3,593
BSB30307 Certificate III in Micro Business Operations

OH&S, WHS
3,856
872
4,460
806
4,933
902
1,303
BSB30712, BSB30707, BSB31606 Certificate III in Work Health

and Safety
909
1,080
1,209
1,462
BSB41412, BSB41407, BSB41604 Certificate IV in Work Health

and Safety
7,485
9,850
12,229
9,561
BSB51312, BSB51307, BSB51604 Diploma of Work Health and

Safety
2,847
4,366
5,779
5,859
BSB60612, BSB60607, BSB61004 Advanced Diploma of Work

Health and Safety
256
244
309
243
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
BSB41513, BSB41507, BSB41504 Certificate IV in Project

Management Practice
3,237
4,151
4,874
3,753
BSB51413, BSB51407, BSB51504 Diploma of Project

Management
4,614
6,669
7,025
4,819
BSB60707, BSB60904 Advanced Diploma of Project

Management
145
356
460
202
PURCHASING
BSB41607, BSB41404 Certificate IV in Purchasing
182
97
129
100
BSB51507, BSB51404 Diploma of Purchasing
117
162
203
153
56
Predicting change

RECORDKEEPING
2010
2011
2012
2013
BSB30807, BSB30401 Certificate III in Recordkeeping
146
140
79
78
BSB41707, BSB40301 Certificate IV in Recordkeeping
73
69
76
77
BSB51707, BSB50301 Diploma of Recordkeeping
27
30
41
28
SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
BSB40407, BSB40401 Certificate IV in Small Business

Management
UNIONISM
9,048
9,673
BSB41807, BSB41804 Certificate IV in Unionism and Industrial

Relations
8,667
9,896
11
Source: VOCSTATS <http://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/portal/vetdataportal/data/menu/vocstats/>, extracted on 16/07/2014
BSB Business Services COMPLETIONS

ADMINISTRATION
2010
2011
2012
2013

Administration
8,151
10,246
10,865
8,998
BSB40507, BSB40201, BSA40197 Certificate IV in Business

Administration
2,364
3,455
9,508
4,705
BSB50407, BSB50201, BSA50100, BSA50197 Diploma of

Business Administration
1,123
1,549
2,060
1,200
ADVERTISING
BSB40107, BSB40601 Certificate IV in Advertising
166
125
153
98
BSB50107, BSB50601 Diploma of Advertising
173
156
169
87
BSB60110, BSB60107, BSB60501 Advanced Diploma of

Advertising
104
83
59
69
Business Services
57

AUDITING
2010
BSB51607, BSB51904 Diploma of Quality Auditing

BUSINESS
2011
67
2013
211
BSB10112, BSB10107, BSB10101 Certificate I in Business
2012
302
206
867
990
879
410
BSB20112, BSB20107, BSB20101 Certificate II in Business
8,673
8,430
7,891
5,261
BSB30112, BSB30110, BSB30107, BSB30101 Certificate III in

Business
5,185
6,431
7,291
5,992
BSB40212, BSB40207, BSB40101 Certificate IV in Business
2,495
2,827
3,797
4,883
BSB50207, BSB50101 Diploma of Business
1,476
1,747
2,501
1,673
BSB60207 Advanced Diploma of Business
48
30
131
77
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT/ SALES

BSB40610, BSB40607 Certificate IV in Business Sales
309
647
684
652
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
(SEE ALSO FRONTLINE MANAGEMENT)
BSB41101 Certificate IV in Business Management
41
BSB50401 Diploma of Business Management
104
18
BSB60201 Advanced Diploma of Business Management
139
CUSTOMER CONTACT
BSB20211, BSB20207 Certificate II in Customer Contact
885
957
1,058
448
2,761
3,602
3,418
1,367
BSB30912, BSB30907 Certificate III in Business Administration

(Education)
137
116
234
440
BSB40312, BSB40311, BSB40307 Certificate IV in Customer

Contact
287
984
1,947
1,378
28
BSB30211, BSB30207 Certificate III in Customer Contact
BSB50311, BSB50307 Diploma of Customer Contact
58
Predicting change

FRANCHISING
2010
BSB50507 Diploma of Franchising

FRONTLINE MANAGEMENT
2011
BSB31207, BSB30504, BSB30501 Certificate III in Frontline

Management
2012
2013
461
631
270
3,998
5,918
7,331
5,383
42
18
BSB51107 Diploma of Management
5,985
10,061
11,434
8,660
BSB60407 Advanced Diploma of Management
1,115
1,723
1,682
1,173
BSB40812, BSB40807, BSB41004, BSB41001 Certificate IV in

Frontline Management
BSB51004, BSB51001 Diploma of Business (Frontline
Management)
GOVERNANCE
BSB40907, BSB40901 Certificate IV in Governance
22
10
BSB41910, BSB41907 Certificate IV in Business (Governance)
75
43
37
41
BSB50710, BSB50707, BSB50901 Diploma of Business

(Governance)
12
17
19
HUMAN RESOURCES
BSB41013, BSB41007, BSB40801 Certificate IV in Human

Resources
BSB50613, BSB50607, BSB50801 Diploma of Human
Resources Management
BSB60907, BSB60301 Advanced Diploma of Management
(Human Resources)
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
BSB30612, BSB30607, BSB30804 Certificate III in International
Trade
989
1,133
1,215
1,086
1,271
1,402
1,401
1,140
181
187
234
171
61
44
20
33
BSB41107, BSB42004 Certificate IV in International Trade
255
342
238
196
BSB50807, BSB52004 Diploma of International Business
568
623
370
244
Business Services
59

LEGAL
2010
2011
2012
2013
BSB31012, BSB31007, BSA30200 Certificate III in Business

Administration (Legal)
427
419
410
341
BSB40110, BSB41207, BSA40200 Certificate IV in Legal

Services
154
177
210
206
BSB50110, BSB51007, BSA50200 Diploma of Legal Services
122
99
109
169
MARKETING
BSB41307, BSB40701 Certificate IV in Marketing
959
749
762
597
BSB51207, BSB50701 Diploma of Marketing
850
910
845
686
BSB60507, BSB60601 Advanced Diploma of Marketing
415
469
306
197
MEDICAL

Administration (Medical)
MICRO BUSINESS
974
BSB30307 Certificate III in Micro Business Operations

WHS
1,105
399
1,363
392
1,416
435
513
BSB30712, BSB30707, BSB31606 Certificate III in Work Health

and Safety
115
193
342
294
BSB41412, BSB41407, BSB41604 Certificate IV in Work Health

and Safety
2,320
2,878
3,813
2,706
BSB51312, BSB51307, BSB51604 Diploma of Work Health and

Safety
949
1,118
1,235
1,066
BSB60612, BSB60607, BSB61004 Advanced Diploma of Work

Health and Safety
131
145
128
95
60
Predicting change

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
2010
2011
2012
2013
BSB41513, BSB41507, BSB41504 Certificate IV in Project

Management Practice
1,798
2,265
2,539
1,843
BSB51413, BSB51407, BSB51504 Diploma of Project

Management
2,075
3,202
3,248
2,286
BSB60707, BSB60904 Advanced Diploma of Project

Management
45
152
231
106
PURCHASING
BSB41607, BSB41404 Certificate IV in Purchasing

BSB51507, BSB51404 Diploma of Purchasing
RECORDKEEPING
102
45
88
37
32
49
89
35
BSB30807, BSB30401 Certificate III in Recordkeeping
34
64
41
38
BSB41707, BSB40301 Certificate IV in Recordkeeping
18
41
27
31
BSB51707, BSB50301 Diploma of Recordkeeping
10
13
10
BSB60807 Advanced Diploma of Recordkeeping
SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
BSB40407, BSB40401 Certificate IV in Small Business

Management
MISCELLANEOUS
3,138
3,102
2,658
2,475
BSA20100, BSA20197 Certificate II in Business (Office

Administration)
26
BSA30100, BSA30197 Certificate III in Business (Office

Administration)
14
Source: VOCSTATS <http://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/portal/vetdataportal/data/menu/vocstats/>, extracted on 16/07/2014

Completions data are subject to upward revision as providers report to NCVER.
Business Services
61
Acknowledgements
The 2015 Environment Scan has been produced with the
assistance of funding provided by the Australian Government
through the Department of Education and Training.
IBSA has produced this Environment Scan as a resource for its stakeholders
without any formofassurance. While IBSA aims to provide high quality content,
it does not guarantee theaccuracyofthisinformation and therefore will not be
liable in any capacity for damages orlossestotheuserthatmay result from the
use of this information.

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Business

3. Identified workforce development needs

4. Current impact of training packages

Appendix A - Methodology and bibliography

Appendix B - Business Services Occupations in demand

Appendix C - NCVER data

The Environment Scan

the people doing the jobs across the

IBSA Environment Scan 2015

An array of businesses can be

Chapter 1 Executive summary

with growth mainly occurring in the

Improving customer engagement

The Business Services Industry has

Business services are responding to these

Achieving healthy (and changing)

Stronger digital skills

In the next 18 months to two years,

Building communication skills

Data analysis skills and

Business services are responding to trends by forging business partnerships, specialising

IBSA Environment Scan 2015

Chapter 2 Industry intelligence

There are other professional services

For information about the outlook for ICT and

The industry is mostly made up of small

IBISWorld (2014) M6900 Business Services in

from 17 percent in 2011, and temporary

the management consultants sector

Over the last year employment

Figure 1: Business Services sectors: revenue generated ($b), 2013-14

Employment placement and recruitment

Communications and marketing

Figure 2: Business Services Industry:

Figure 3: Business Services sectors: annual employment growth (%),

Note: this and figures following are based on IBISWorld

Call Centre Operation in Australia; N7212 Temporary

Source: IBISWorld 2014 Industry Reports NZ294

IBSA Environment Scan 2015

Compared with other service industries

Manalo & Orsmond (2013) The Business Services

Chapter 2 Industry intelligence

placement and recruitment services

Over the next five years revenue and

Source (2014) Trends shaping the consulting industry

The sector is forecast to grow by an

Contact call centres

The general trend towards outsourcing non-core activities,

capabilities for transactional, social,

Information week (2014) IBMs predictions: 6 big data

IBSA Environment Scan 2015

research to help clients understand the

employment services. Employment

Manalo & Orsmond (2013) The Business Services

Employment level 2014

Chapter 2 Industry intelligence

services sector jobs are located

the two largest cities of Melbourne and

qualifications, but analytical work

IBSA Environment Scan 2015

office administration services and other

temporary staff services, by mining, oil

Business services employ large numbers

while professionals and managers