INTERVIEW
KIM at the MOD: defence of the realm
Rebecca Dorsett, deputy head of the digital and information professions in the Ministry of Defence discusses how KIM needs a strong professional identity. Becky, who is also chair of CILIP’s Government Information Group, tells Rob Mackinlay that digital culture is blurring the boundaries of professions and that being territorial could clash with the learning cultures organisations need.
BECKY Dorsett has worked at the Ministry of Defence (MOD), in knowledge and informa- tion management (KIM) for the past decade. Her current role is in human resources where she focuses on the professional development of about 1,000 people work- ing as KIM professionals within the MOD. Her remit also includes the digital, data and technology profession, which covers another 3,500 people across the MOD.
“We look at the professional development of our existing professionals,” says Becky. “We don’t do recruitment or anything like that – we are purely looking at development of roles aligned to Govern- ment KIM in MOD. And the most persistent problem I deal with in this professional development/HR world comes up in specific areas and is mainly about creating a learning culture – because current models of learning do not work in a digital age.”
Professional problems
Becky sees many challenges to this goal and despite being a huge fan of professions, she thinks one of the potential hurdles could be professions themselves. “In the future the government’s problem is going to come from separating people. Professions are great for professional development, but it is getting more and more confused because of the overlap between them – especially in the digital space. An example in the MOD is the engineering profession. It is becoming increasingly digital to the extent that it is now more digitally specialist than some of our digital people. So, it’s a confusing landscape.
“This will challenge ways of working in the Civil Service because everyone gets slightly siloed into a profession. There are massive benefits to this – to being part of an active profession – but in the Civil
March 2024
Rob Mackinlay(
rob.mackinlay@
cilip.org.uk) is a journalist at Information Professional
Service, which is very hierarchical, people can start to feel like they only sit in one area. “Even when we’re talking about skills – who is going to do what – it gets very blurred. It’s a prob- lem for KIM in particular because everyone needs a level of digital or KIM skill. It is needed across all professions. But that means you can’t gatekeep certain career paths just because they fit into your framework. Instead, you have to allow for fluid career paths. The challenge is how you manage skills in that environment without creating silos.”
Career pathfinder
Becky’s own career has often zig-zagged. Her first experience working in a government department wasn’t a success: “The Civil Service isn’t something that every girl and boy dreams of as a career, but both of my parents were career civil servants. That’s why I started out as a casual in the DWP. But I was so bored I thought I could never sit in an office and work for the Civil Service again.
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