Library Association of Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications System for Library Officers & Para-professional Janice Chia, Chair, Training & Development, LAS Brunei Darussalam Library Association 25th Anniversary Regional Conference on Library, Archives and Museums November 2011

FOCUS ON STAFF Traditional focus on resources Current focus on value-added services Who are the most visible staff? Whose efficiency allows the professional to operate effectively? Brunei, Nov 2011

Right staff, right skills Doing the right things right Support staff are the front line Technical services more reliant on support staff Singapore overall has generous support staff levels; the total population in libraries is not small Where to get relevant education and certification and continuing education? Brunei, Nov 2011

From Temasek to Nothing Temasek Polytechnic (TP) offered courses in library skills and know ledge aimed at para-professional and would-be paraprofessional staff 5 years ago TP terminated courses Large libraries plan and conduct own in-house/on the job training programmes for these staff; Small libraries rely on on the job training Brunei, Nov 2011

WDA Initiative the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) approached LAS to develop competency standards for the Library industry Why competency standards? What do they lead to? The importance of WSQ (Workforce Skills Qualifications) – portability & recognition LAS and NLB first jointly developed the competency map for support staff and professionals Brunei, Nov 2011

Who are WDA? Government statutory authority about 7 years old which: – Supports the development of competency standards for industry – Provides pre-delivery approval of courses – Encourages regular reviews of courses – Provides assistance to bodies wishing to train for their industry Brunei, Nov 2011

Competency Standards for Libraries WDA focused on the Creative Industries from 2007 and asked LAS to develop the competency standards and potential training courses that could be offered to LAS members/interested outsiders In 2008, 5 LAS members came together to develop the first 5 competency standards for support staff professionals at Entry Level 2 Brunei, Nov 2011

Approval of Competency Standards The five standards were finalised with the help of a consultant appointed by WDA who had done similar work in UK These were then tabled for approval at the WDA Steering Committee responsible for standards development The standards were then made ready for development into training courses Brunei, Nov 2011

Developing Training Courses Mid 2009 another team of LAS members came forward to help develop and deliver courses Before they could begin, they were required by WDA to attend the Advanced Certificate for Training and Assessment (ACTA) Advanced Certificate course conducted by WDA 10 of our members have completed the course Brunei, Nov 2011

Target groups Entry level – no prior requirements Staff needing a specific or broad grounding in basic library services Staff in allied areas who need to know about library functions New support staff: staff moving to new areas of work Experienced support staff who would like a qualification for recognition People who are looking to enter/re-enter library work Brunei, Nov 2011

Library Competency Standards ( Entry Level 2) Brunei, Nov 2011 Competency Statement of Attainment (SOA) Training (2 or 3 days) Assessment 2 weeks later

Library Competency Standards ( Entry Level 2) Brunei, Nov 2011 Competency 1 Competency 2 Competency 3 Competency 4 Competency 5 Higher Certificate in Library and Information Services

Library Competency Standards ( Entry Level 2) 1.Support general reference and information enquiry work 2.Support collection maintenance 3.Support acquisitions and serials work 4.Support loans and membership services 5.Support bibliographic control work (3-Day Module) Brunei, Nov 2011

Training Courses Timeframe The first course on was accredited in June 2010 and first training in August The rest of the courses were accredited by Nov 2010 and the first training in Jan A cycle of the 5 modules were set up so that staff can gradually assemble the SOAs needed to obtain the HCLIS Brunei, Nov 2011

Course Fees Gross Fees per course – S$ 330 for 2 day module – S$495 for 3 day module Nett Fees per course (after subsidies) – S$65 for a 2 day module: – S$95 for a 3 day module Full certificate gross fee – S$1815 Full certificate net fee (after subsidies): – S$355 Brunei, Nov 2011

Publicity LAS Members Mailing List LAS FaceBook Brunei, Nov 2011

The numbers so far …. Support General Reference = 76 Support Collection Maintenance = 48 Support Bibliographic Control = 31 Support Acquisitions & Serials = 48 Provide Loans & Membership Services = 34 Total SOAs issued for the 5 modules = 237 Total no. of HCLIS = 17 No. of Unique Headcounts = 97 Brunei, Nov 2011

The Challenges Limited manpower resources in LAS Council Balancing demands & limitations Keeping up with the paperwork Sustainability of courses & trainers Brunei, Nov 2011

The fruits “It is a good opportunity to upgrade and receive recognition of our skills. Hopefully [attending these courses] can help us in our career advancement.” Brunei, Nov 2011 “[Participating in these programmes] will enable me to better perform my job and duties.”

Thank you Thank you Brunei, Nov 2011