Production Clerks

ANZSCO ID 591112

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
4,500
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
84%
Female Share
53%
Average age
40

Summary

Production Clerks record and coordinate the flow of work and materials between departments, examine orders for goods, and prepare production schedules.

Also known as: Production Recorder or Schedule Clerk.

Specialisations: Delivery Clerk, Logistics Clerk.

Formal qualifications are not essential to work as a Production Clerk. Although some workers have a Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification or a university degree in transport, logistics or warehousing operations.

Tasks

  • Examines orders and compiles data for production schedules.

  • Checks inventories and prepares delivery schedules.

  • Examines containers to ensure that they are filled, and records quantities.

  • Investigates and identifies supply sources and prepares and processes purchase orders.

  • Counts incoming stock and reconciles it with requisitions, and updates inventory and stock location records.

Characteristics

Job Type
Clerical And Administrative Workers
Skill Level
Lower 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
  • Light

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, Purchasing and Supply Logistics Clerks, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 84% of people employed as Production Clerks work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 18 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 42 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
Manufacturing
20.9%
2
Transport, Postal and Warehousing
13.3%
3
Public Administration and Safety
11.8%
4
Information Media and Telecommunications
8.5%
5
Other industries
40.3%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

33.2% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

24.4% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

19.3% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

6.7% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

10.0% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.0% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

1.3% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

3.0% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Production Clerks All Jobs Average
NSW 33.2 31.6
VIC 24.4 25.6
QLD 19.3 20.0
SA 6.7 7.0
WA 10.0 10.8
TAS 2.0 2.0
NT 1.3 1.0
ACT 3.0 1.9



Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
40
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
53%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Production Clerks is 40 years. This is the same as the all jobs average.

    A large share of workers are aged 25 to 34 years.

    Females make up 53% of the workforce. This is 5 percentage points above 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 Production Clerks All Jobs Average
15-19 1.5 5.0
20-24 9.1 9.3
25-34 26.0 22.9
35-44 24.0 22.0
45-54 23.1 21.6
55-59 8.6 9.0
60-64 5.3 6.0
65 and Over 2.4 4.2
Median Age 40 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

Formal qualifications are not essential to work as a Production Clerk. Although some workers have a Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification or a university degree in transport, logistics or warehousing operations.

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 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 Production Clerks All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 6.6 10.1
Bachelor degree 17.8 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 13.8 11.6
Certificate III/IV 20.4 21.1
Year 12 24.4 18.1
Year 11 5.5 4.8
Year 10 and below 11.5 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 Purchasing and Supply Logistics Clerks who interact well with others, are organised, trustworthy and responsible.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 57%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 55%

    Critical thinking

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

  • 54%

    Active listening

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

  • 50%

    Monitoring

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

  • 48%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 46%

    Time management

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

  • 45%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 45%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 43%

    Complex problem solving

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

  • 43%

    Judgment and decision making

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

  • 43%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 41%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 41%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 41%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 41%

    Active learning

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

  • 39%

    Systems analysis

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

  • 36%

    Learning strategies

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

  • 36%

    Mathematics

    Using maths to solve problems.

  • 34%

    Management of personnel resources

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

  • 30%

    Systems evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 64%

    Production and processing

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

  • 59%

    Administration and management

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

  • 59%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 56%

    Customer and personal service

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

  • 55%

    Clerical

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

  • 54%

    Education and training

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

  • 49%

    English language

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

  • 45%

    Computers and electronics

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

  • 38%

    Mechanical

    Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • 34%

    Personnel and human resources

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

  • 32%

    Engineering and technology

    Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.

  • 31%

    Technical design

    Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

  • 31%

    Psychology

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

  • 30%

    Economics and accounting

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

  • 28%

    Public safety and security

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

  • 28%

    Sales and marketing

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

  • 22%

    Transportation

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

  • 22%

    Communications and media

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

  • 19%

    Law and government

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

  • 19%

    Physics

    The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 57%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 57%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 54%

    Near vision

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

  • 54%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 52%

    Problem spotting

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

  • 52%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 50%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 50%

    Sorting or ordering

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

  • 46%

    Inductive reasoning

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

  • 46%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 43%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 43%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 43%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 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.

  • 41%

    Working with numbers

    Add, subtract, multiply, or divide.

  • 39%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 39%

    Originality

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

  • 37%

    Visualization

    Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

  • 36%

    Mathematics

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


Activities

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

  • 69%

    Planning and prioritising work

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

  • 62%

    Collecting and organising information

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

  • 62%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 61%

    Communicating within a team

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

  • 61%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 60%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

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

  • 60%

    Scheduling work and activities

    Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

  • 59%

    Working with computers

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

  • 59%

    Making decisions and solving problems

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

  • 58%

    Looking for changes over time

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

  • 58%

    Making sense of information and ideas

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

  • 55%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 54%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 54%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 53%

    Checking for errors or defects

    Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.

  • 52%

    Checking compliance with standards

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

  • 52%

    Managing payments and orders

    Monitoring and controlling resources and the spending of money.

  • 50%

    Estimating amounts, costs and resources

    Working out sizes, distances, amounts, time, costs, resources, or materials needed for a task.

  • 48%

    Documenting or recording information

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

  • 42%

    Training and teaching others

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


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.

  • 95%

    Administrative

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

  • 76%

    Enterprising

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

  • 38%

    Practical

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

  • 24%

    Analytical

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

  • 24%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 14%

    Creative

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


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 76%

    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%

    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.

  • 64%

    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.

  • 62%

    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.

  • 57%

    Achievement

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

  • 43%

    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.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 98%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 94%

    Contact with people

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

  • 94%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 92%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 91%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 89%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 89%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 84%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 84%

    Unstructured work

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

  • 84%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 83%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 81%

    Wear common protective or safety equipment

    Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.

  • 80%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 77%

    Responsible for outcomes

    Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.

  • 75%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 75%

    Repeating same tasks

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

  • 70%

    Loud or uncomfortable sounds

    Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.

  • 67%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 66%

    Conflict situations

    Deal with conflict or disagreements.

  • 64%

    Exposure to contaminants

    Be exposed to pollutants, gases, dust or odours.

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, 43-5061.00 - Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks.


Links and downloads

Back to top