I am delighted to introduce the third annual TFPL and Sue Hill Knowledge & Information Management Salary Survey.

We are living in uncertain times. And these uncertain times will definitely have an impact upon jobs, but in a positive or negative way? I can’t say. But I do know that we need to be future-proofing our skill sets to keep our employability levels high and to keep us in demand.

The World Economic Forum reports that the skills most in demand in 2020 will include complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, emotional intelligence, decision making, service orientation and negotiation – all of which easily fit under the heading of ‘Soft/Transferable Skills’. These skills are seen as the very core of employability – those qualities which make you a confident, competent, credible and collaborative team player. We mustn’t ignore the technical, hard skills which give the knowledge and information professional a real edge. Recently LinkedIn listed the top skills sought by employers as including statistical analysis and data mining, web architecture, information security and storage systems and management. Language ability is increasingly more important, although we are faced with the uncertainty of employment rights outside of the UK and impending trade deals will almost certainly shape the language classes of UK school children.

Specific jargon may change from sector to sector but the underlying theme to me is that people who understand how to find, capture, store, analyse, manage and provide access to information in all its forms… well, they are the people who are employable.

I hope that you find this guide insightful and I look forward to receiving your feedback. On behalf of TFPL and Sue Hill, I would like to thank the IRMS and their members for working in partnership with us and of course to everyone who has taken the time to input into this year’s salary survey.

Salary Survey 2017