Importers and Exporters

ANZSCO ID 133311

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
3,800
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
73%
Female Share
34%
Average age
46

Summary

Importers or Exporters manage the operations of importing or exporting establishments.

Tasks

  • Identifies local and overseas business opportunities.

  • Develops and implements business plans, as well as the policies and procedures for marketing, operating, human resource, pricing and credit.

  • Determines the mix of products and services to be provided and negotiates conditions of trade.

  • Liaises with local and overseas suppliers and distributors about orders and products.

  • Researches regulatory and statutory requirements affecting the importing, exporting, wholesaling and distribution of goods.

  • Monitors business performance and prepares the estimates, financial statements and reports of operations.

Characteristics

Job Type
Managers
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Administrative
  • Enterprising
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Importers, Exporters and Wholesalers, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 73% of people employed as Importers and Exporters work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 7 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 46 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.


Industries

Main industries

1
Wholesale Trade
67.6%
2
Transport, Postal and Warehousing
9.0%
3
Retail Trade
5.6%
4
Manufacturing
3.8%
5
Other industries
7.3%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

36.8% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

33.5% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

15.7% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

5.4% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

7.0% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

0.6% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.1% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

0.7% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Importers and Exporters All Jobs Average
NSW 36.8 31.6
VIC 33.5 25.6
QLD 15.7 20.0
SA 5.4 7.0
WA 7.0 10.8
TAS 0.6 2.0
NT 0.1 1.0
ACT 0.7 1.9



Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
46
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
34%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Importers and Exporters is 46 years. This is higher than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 45 to 54 years.

    Females make up 34% of the workforce. This is 14 percentage points below the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Importers and Exporters All Jobs Average
15-19 0.2 5.0
20-24 2.4 9.3
25-34 19.4 22.9
35-44 24.5 22.0
45-54 25.7 21.6
55-59 9.6 9.0
60-64 8.4 6.0
65 and Over 9.9 4.2
Median Age 46 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Extensive experience or a formal qualification in commerce is needed to work as an Importer or Exporter. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Retail Services and Transport and Logistics Training Package VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Importers and Exporters All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 13.6 10.1
Bachelor degree 28.1 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 12.2 11.6
Certificate III/IV 9.7 21.1
Year 12 23.7 18.1
Year 11 3.6 4.8
Year 10 and below 9.1 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Importers, Exporters and Wholesalers who are motivated, organised and can communicate clearly with a variety of different people.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 55%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 54%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 52%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 52%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 52%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 50%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 48%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 48%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 46%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 46%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 45%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 45%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 43%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 43%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 43%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 43%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 43%

    Mathematics

    Using maths to solve problems.

  • 41%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

  • 41%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 39%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 71%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 71%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 58%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 56%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 55%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 55%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 53%

    Transportation

    Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.

  • 52%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 52%

    Geography

    Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.

  • 49%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 47%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.

  • 44%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 41%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 34%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 27%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 26%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 23%

    Foreign language

    Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

  • 20%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

  • 19%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 14%

    Chemistry

    Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 55%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 54%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 52%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 52%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 50%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 50%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 48%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 46%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 46%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 46%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 46%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 46%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 45%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 43%

    Mathematics

    Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.

  • 43%

    Memorization

    Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

  • 43%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 41%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 41%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 39%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 37%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 76%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 69%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 68%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 66%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 65%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 63%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 63%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 63%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 63%

    Providing office support

    Doing day-to-day office work such as filing and processing paperwork.

  • 62%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 61%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 61%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 59%

    Giving expert advice

    Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups.

  • 59%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 58%

    Guiding and directing staff

    Guiding and directing staff, including setting and monitoring performance standards.

  • 56%

    Managing payments and orders

    Monitoring and controlling resources and the spending of money.

  • 54%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 53%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 51%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 45%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 90%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 81%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 43%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 29%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 19%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 14%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 71%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 71%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 67%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 67%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 62%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 57%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 100%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 100%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 96%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 96%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 96%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 92%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 90%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 90%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

  • 87%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 86%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 81%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 80%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 80%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 78%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 77%

    Competition

    Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.

  • 75%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 74%

    Automation of tasks

    Do tasks that are mostly automated.

  • 73%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 71%

    Consequence of error

    Work where mistakes have serious consequences.

  • 65%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 13-1199.03 - Customs Brokers.


Links and downloads

Back to top