Following is a summary of the ASU’s coverage in this sector. It is not exhaustive, so if you do not see your position or employer listed, you may still be eligible for ASU membership. Feel free to make an inquiry.

Clerical and administrative employees are skilled workers but their skills are not always recognised. In some cases this is because they have gained their skills through informal training on the job and don't have formal certificates to hang on the wall to advertise their qualifications. This is slowly changing.

Competency standards exist for clerical and administrative work. Today standards are located in Training Packages developed by industry training bodies on which unions and employer organisations are represented.

Training is now available from many sources on a modular "bite sized" basis. No longer do workers have to do complete courses - they can have their existing skills recognised through assessment and access top up training for the rest. If they can demonstrate that they have a full package of skills identified in the endorsed Training Package, they can get a qualification issued by a registered training provider (RTO).

Some problems still exist with access to this process, including who pays for the training and assessment. Workers can and have made this an industrial issue as part of enterprise bargaining to get their employer to pay. More information is available from the ASU info@asu.asn.au

Remember, clerical & administrative workers are skilled workers, too. Let's make sure we tell each other, our employers and the world!