Tony Buon

Literally, credentials are letters or certificates that establish the position, authority or identity of the bearer. Credentialling is the process through which a person is approved or recognised by law or an authority to engage in a particular professional or technical capacity. Credentialism can be seen as the empty pursuit of degrees or other credentials that are not necessarily related to intellectual or educational achievement (Amstein, 1982: 162). Davis (1981 :649) has defined credentialism as pressure to upgrade formal educational pre-requisites for entry into and promotion through labour markets. The Kirby report (1985:11) defines credentialism as the process that occurs when the entry qualifications for an occupation are upgraded but there is no commensurate change in the knowledge or skill requirements for the job. For the purpose of this paper credentialism will be used in a general sense, taking into account the definitions mentioned above. This paper will: (1) examine the growth of credentialism in our western society and in particular the effects that this growth has had on the labour market; (2) show that credentialism assists in the maintenance of the status quo and often discriminates against certain groups; (3) show that the link between productivity and educational achievement is at best both unclear and indirect and, at worst, non-existent; (4) examine the over­ reliance on credentials in selecting staff and show how this practice constitutes poor personnel management practice; and (5) argue that credentialism has allowed some professional groups and associations to restrict supply and to create an exclusive control over their professions. Given Australia's international strategic position, a central objective of Government policy over the past years has been to develop an appropriate environment in which Australian industry can become more internationally competitive. Central to this policy is an increase in the training and skill development of the Australian Workforce (Dawkins, 1989). Presently, plans are being developed by the Australian Government to require large organisations to spend a minimum of one per cent of their pay-roll on training. This increase in training could well lead to an increase in the issuing of credentials, hence entry qualifications for the occupations may be upgraded without any commensurate change in the knowledge requirement for the occupation. There is also pressure on tertiary education institutions to become more 'relevant' to industry demands. A stringent government funding forces universities to become more enterprising, university administrators are looking to industry to provide vital funding. The funding strings attached by industry, is for credentialled graduates, especially in the areas of business, economics and computing. Both of these developments will play an integral part of increased credentialism in Australian society. Credentials were first used in the nineteenth century, with the main purpose of protecting the public by showing the competence of the professional (Husen & Postlethwaite, 1984: 1103). Over the last sixty years, the western world has experienced a growth in the number of people who have credentials, a growth in the number of credentialling bodies and a growth in the use of credentials as a way of selecting people for employment. There has also been a growth

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the ITF Seafarers' Trust and produced for Hunterlink. Buon Consultancy makes no warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or any third party's use or the results of such use of any information disclosed or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favouring by any of the parties to this report. The views and opinions of the author expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Hunterlink or the ITF Seafarers' Trust.

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Workplace Mediation can decrease the tension in the working environment; workplace mediation is a shift away from conflict based employee relations to a collaborative and problem-solving approach. It is also a proven informal approach that avoids expensive litigation and resolves issues fast and efficiently.