Opening the Doors: Plenary questions

 

An online event held jointly with CILIP Cymru Wales on Thursday 27 October 10:00 – 12 noon, provided delegates with an opportunity to find out more about government and parliamentary information services in Wales. This event also outlined the range of career opportunities in the sector and how to map your skills to meet the competency-based recruitment processes. In the Plenary session our four panel speakers answered questions on:

·         the unique features of working in government / agency / parliamentary roles

·         where to find mentoring opportunities

·         further tips for meeting the competency-based recruitment process

·         whether Welsh language skills are an essential requirement

·         and the challenges of spreading awareness of the specialist skills of information professionals within our organisations

Panel members were:

·         Beth Hall, National Resources Wales

·         Emma Harvey Woodason, Welsh Government (WG)

·         Helen Blockwell, Head of Library Service, WG

·         Jody Parker, formerly BEIS

The session was Chaired by Stephen Gregory (WG). This is a summary of the answers.

 

Q. What would the panel say are the unique selling points of working in government as a KIM professional and what does the sector offer that others don’t?

Emma noted that working in GKIM (Government Knowledge & Information Management) offers opportunities to make major contributions to the development of government policy. Although we play a hidden, supporting role we can help with compliance (especially in terms of records management – preserving historic information for future generations), as well as helping with policy formulation, implementation and review.  There are chances to develop your career in a number of different ways, move between different GKIM areas (e.g. library, records management, information governance, data protection, or freedom of information) and develop new skills. A point reiterated by Beth. Emma noted there are constantly new challenges coming up and we never stop moving – this is what keeps her happy and interested.

Jody added that she thought that a key benefit to being a GKIM professional is that you get to bring yourself to the role, and you get to shape the role according to what you think is important. You can have quite an influential and powerful voice, about how and why things are done.  People do listen to you which adds a real power to the role.

Having the knowledge that what you do has purpose can be a big motivator for Helen. Contributing to the wider picture is something that Helen has appreciated since being in her role.

What was not discussed but could also be a significant draw to working in government are the more generic advantages of working in the civil service. Things like flexible working (flexitime, but increasingly also location independent roles – working from home with some work from your nearest office, or occasional working from a specific office). Family / carer / disability etc friendly employment policies, in a supportive culture, open and encouraging to a diversity of staff. Most government departments and agencies will have a variety of staff networks who are listened to, and who provide amazing support, advocacy, and challenge.  There are also civil service-wide staff networks.  The salary may not be “top notch”, but job security is generally good, and the pension scheme continues to be attractive. 

 

Q. Where can you look for mentoring opportunities, or advice on how to advance your career?

 

Emma noted that the Knowledge Hub, Government Knowledge and Information Management  Group page (only open to current civil servants) includes a link to a spreadsheet of GKIM mentors and she invited colleagues  to contact potentially suitable mentors from this list.   Stephen and Beth noted that both GIG and CILIP Cymru Wales may be able to help by making links between individuals. Beth also talked of her experiences in mentoring CILIP Professional Registration candidates. There are benefits in mentoring, or being mentored by colleagues from different sectors, not only for Professional Registration but also in other areas of your career and professional development. Moving between sectors can also be beneficial for your career, and so early views on other sectors through your mentoring can be helpful to career moves. Helen urged colleagues to also look for informal opportunities:  speaking to colleagues from your wider team and making links with staff in other government departments. Often experiences will be similar and that colleagues are very willing to share their learning. For Jody having a mentor was one of “the best career development” aids that she had had. Jody encouraged everyone to think about having a mentor irrespective of the stage of your career.

 

Q.  Advice to those who may be applying to the civil service for the first time. Tips for demonstrating meeting required competencies.

 

In coming from the academic sector Beth had not applied under a competency-based recruitment scheme previously. Her advice is to practice, check out competency-based examples where skills are transformed to meet the competency requirements. Competency-based recruitment is a different process but one that can be mastered. Emma urged potential candidates to read the instructions on how to apply. It is a case of thinking and wording your application slightly differently. Your experience will be relevant, but you have to word your answer so that it answers and addresses the competency being asked for. Be concise, be mindful of word limits, and be clear about what you did in this context, what your role was, and not just generalised in terms of what the team did. You and your experience are key here. Think carefully about what you are being asked to demonstrate and ensure that your answer provides this evidence. You may use the same example of work to demonstrate a number of different competencies, but tailor each answer to address each specific competence being asked for. Do not expect the sifting or interviewing panel to directly interpret hitting a range of competencies from a single example. Each will need to be clearly spelled out. Guidance is available via several different sources including the UK Government web site.  One delegate drew attention to Jac Williams' YouTube channel, providing some great videos about applying for civil service roles, including tackling the Success Profiles and approaching interviews.

 

Q.  Do you have to be a fluent Welsh speaker to work in Welsh Government?

 

This question was broadened out to consider all the contexts of our panel members.

Beth noted that NRW has a commitment to have confident Welsh speakers in customer facing roles and this includes the NRW Library. Consequently, there is a commitment to have a fluent Welsh speaker in the NRW Library Team. There are lots of opportunities to learn or improve your Welsh within NRW, so a commitment to learning is a key feature. There are Welsh language sessions for staff, both formal and informal, including access to online professional courses through, for example, Bangor University.  Role advertisements and job descriptions should clearly explain the level of Welsh language skills required, so check these carefully. It is also worth asking and checking with the recruitment point of contact for further details.

Helen detailed that you do not need to be a fluent Welsh language speaker to work in WG. Staff come from across the UK and internationally and so they would not necessarily have Welsh language skills. We have a couple of people in the team who are fluent Welsh speakers, and some colleagues undertaking Welsh courses. We are actively encouraged to develop our Welsh language skills and capabilities. Like NRW there are courses available to help staff acquire, develop, and enhance their Welsh language skills and confidence. Role vacancies will also specify the level of Welsh language skills required.  We are a bilingual organisation and some materials need to be provided bilingually. WG has a translation unit that can assist with this.

 

Speaking about BEIS Jody noted that there is no general requirement for Welsh language skills to work in the Department. BEIS has a Welsh Language Scheme which is administered from the Cardiff Office (ensuring that English and Welsh languages are treated equally when providing public services in Wales) . The BEIS Devolution Unit is also based on the Cardiff office.

 

Q.  Perceptions of roles of libraries within organisations. How challenging has it been to raise awareness of library / information specialist skills within the wider organisation?

 

In NRW this continues to be a challenge. Beth noted at time of speaking that one of her colleagues would be staffing a stand at an internal NRW conference on gathering and using evidence, and that presence would be essential to spread the word about the Library’s role. Promotion needs to be constant. In NRW groups where evidence is key, Beth tries to ensure that the Library is represented, and uses these opportunities, wherever possible, to demonstrate how the Library may be able to assist. However, there is still a lot of promotion that needs to be done within NRW.

 

Jody reflected on the specific skills of librarians and how useful they are to government departments, especially in the role of capturing and organising institutional memory. This is a key failing across government, exemplified by institutional knowledge failures at the Home Office leading to the Windrush injustices. How do we stop losing institutional memory? How can we ensure that information, and the knowledge contained within it, is preserved? Traditional information skills are more relevant than ever, but it can be challenging to enable Senior Civil Servants to really make those links (back to the value and necessity of capturing the institutional memory).

 

From her experience in WG, Helen noted that there is a need for advocacy about the service within the organisation. As mentioned in Helen’s presentation there are staff who have used the service and provided some very favourable feedback. So, word of mouth may also help both in disseminating the value of using library services, but also in understanding needs and suggesting how we may be able to help. Both may be more limited under hybrid / remote working conditions, where face to face, and particularly chance meetings are less frequent. However, the Team has very good contacts within the organisation and so we are able to use these to promote our services. Peoples’ perceptions of libraries may also be challenging - where people just envisage a library as a collection of books. Redressing these perceptions and understanding can be more challenging. We are trying to get the Library featured within the WG Induction Programme for all newly starting staff members, and similar measures, so that people can understand the breadth of what we do. However, it remains a constant challenge to get officials to think beyond a library being just a room with some books in it!

 

Video Recordings

 

Video recordings of the presentations are available to CILIP members via the CILIP Government Information Group “News” page.

 

Session 1 - Helen Blockwell, Head of Library Services, Welsh Government provides an overview of the service and some thoughts on direction for the future.  (Video, 16 minutes)

Session 2 - Jody Parker outlines her career pathway, and details her most recent role as an Information Architect (IA) at BEIS (Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) working from their Cardiff office. The session demonstrates the range of roles and career benefits available from working within Government Knowledge & Information Management. Jody also explores the roles and challenges for IAs within a government department. (Video, 24.5 minutes. For data privacy reasons much of this video is pixelated. Jody was unable to display her slides and these have been interwoven, as static image shots, at appropriate points in the recording).

Session 3 - Information and Library Service at Natural Resources Wales. Dr Beth Hall outlines information services at NRW, the body which ensures that the natural resources of Wales are sustainably maintained, enhanced and used for now and the future. This presentation was made in Welsh with simultaneous translation to English. Some of the slides are in Welsh. (Video, ca 15.5 minutes)

Session 4 - "GKIM Skills and Opportunities". Emma Harvey-Woodason (Head of Libraries & Archives, Welsh Government) considers the routes and opportunities into a GKIM role, how to find out about vacancies and to apply. Outlines how the GKIM skills framework, competencies and behaviours are crucial to this process, as are soft skills capabilities. Emma notes that work in GKIM can be varied, stretching, with opportunities and rewards, and that information professionals with diverse backgrounds and experience will be welcomed and valued.  (19 mins 40 sec)