Skills Shortage at the Top. (June 17, 2008)

Rohan Carr is one of the directors of The Insight Group, which describes itself as "an independent, Australian owned Executive Search firm with offices in Sydney and Melbourne. We have successfully consulted to some of Australia’s leading public and private companies and organisations since our formation in 1994," and one of their principal functions is "recruiting senior individuals within law, chartered accounting and other consulting practices," i.e. executive search.

In an article in yesterday's Age Dr Carr makes several cogent observations concerning senior university staff which are of importance not so much for what he says -- much of it has been said before -- but because it is he who's saying it.

He writes:

There are now more than a dozen unfilled vacancies at Australian universities for accounting academics at a professorial level, some of them unfilled for more than 12 months - and that's just one example.

The sector is grappling with a staffing crisis and yet, despite all the talk of skills shortages in other sectors, it seems no one has noticed this one. The question must be asked, who will teach our university students of the future?

While in fact it has been noticed and reports written but its just been rare for the matter to get much beyond the higher education pages and supplements, and certainly John Howard's Coalition government was if anything an active instigator during its tenure.

Dr Rohan goes on to say:

The university skills shortage is happening right now... Within 10 years - if unaddressed - it will risk pushing down tertiary education standards and potentially reduce revenue from education exports.

[I]n fields such as accounting an individual can, by 30, earn a salary which he or she may never achieve after an entire career within academia. This is despite the fact that a university position would likely demand more advanced qualifications.

Full-time professors at the peak of their careers, and in some cases after working for more than 30 years, may earn up to $150,000 a year including superannuation. Young engineers working in industry can achieve this level of pay after less than 10 years post-qualifying experience.

Like other skilled Australians, academics are tempted to work in universities around the world where the pay is better, faculty resources are superior... so, from within an already small pool, the biggest fish are netted.

Last financial year Australia earned $11.7billion from education exports... 15% of total university and TAFE funding comes from full-fee paying international students, and at some institutes the reliance is as high as 45% of the total budget.

China, as just one example, plans to build about 100 new universities in the next five years... they will profoundly challenge our reliance on the region's students to choose Australia as the place to study.

Even more worrying is the impact this trend would have on our already cramped ability to recruit and keep good academic staff.

will [the Bradley Higher Education Review] address the [university] staffing crisis?
A quick check of the review's terms of reference shows the matter will not be specifically addressed, and it seems unlikely that it will emerge in the course of other investigations.

Universities, and their funding sources, must also acknowledge that bricks and mortar do not an institute of higher learning make.

Dr Rohan also gives a short list of some reforms that would make an academic career more inviting, but interestingly sees the requirement of research as something of an impediment, not all together surprising considering his background described as: "Following an early career in the accounting and finance sectors Rohan has spent more than 10 years in executive search both at The Insight Group and a global search firm."

His suggestions: "Speeding up slow and cumbersome internal procedures, shifting administrative functions to administration staff, and reviewing the research load with an understanding that teaching alone is a precious component of university and national life will all go a long way to making universities more attractive places to work."

We'd suggest striking a sensible balance for teaching and research, and yes, keeping administrative duties to a minimum.