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Customer clerks: skills opportunities and challenges (2023 update)
Summary
Customer clerks are occupied across various economic sectors offering several support services to customers. They liaise directly with people using their services and their everyday tasks include dealing with clients in connection with money-handling operations, requests for information and making appointments; operating telephone switchboards; and greeting and receiving visitors in the organisations they work for. Jobs in this group include bank tellers and clerks, pawn brokers and money-lenders, receptionists, telephone switchboard operators, and travel consultants.
Key facts
- Around 3.6 million people were employed as customer clerks in 2022, which accounted for almost 2 per cent of total EU employment.
- Between 2012 and 2022 employment for customer clerks remained stable. Over the same period, employment across all occupations in the EU increased by almost 8 per cent.
- Between 2019 and 2020, when the EU experienced economic lockdowns, 150 thousand customer clerk jobs were lost. Employment had slightly increased in the following year, but by the end of 2022 it was still more than 100 thousand workers short of the pre Covid-19 level.
- Customer clerks are spread across many economic sectors. In 2021, their largest shares were employed within the financial and insurance activities sector (19 per cent) and the administrative and support service activities sector (15 per cent).
- More than half of customer clerks have attained a qualification level ISCED 3 (i.e. upper secondary education) and 4 (i.e. post-secondary non-tertiary education) in 2021, equivalent to the education level achieved after completing upper secondary education. By 2035, the share of customer clerks having medium (i.e., ISCED 3 or 4) level qualifications is expected to be the same as the share of those having high-level qualifications (i.e. ISCED level 5 or above).
- Customer clerks are mainly women (70 per cent in 2021).
- The employment of customer clerks is projected to slightly increase between 2022 and 2035.
- By 2035, Cedefop forecasts an increase of 540 thousand jobs for customer clerks. In addition to the new job creation, there will be a large number of customer clerk jobs to be filled in over the same period to cover those leaving the occupation due to retirement, who are estimated at 2.2 million. Considering also the new job creation, this means that almost 2.8 million job openings will need to be filled in between 2022 and 2035.
- The take-up of new technologies – for example, those facilitating the development of “smart bank branches” and online gambling - will drive changes in the skills required of customer clerks in the future. As the European population ages, the need to provide various forms of services (e.g., travel scheduling, hotel services) to seniors will also affect the skills required of customer clerks.
Employment and job demand
Employment trends for customer clerks were similar to all clerical support workers in the past decade. Large employment drops happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, as people stayed at home and customer workers were not needed to provide guidance regarding various arrangements, and other services. Now, the employment seems to be stabilized.
Figure 1: Year-to-year employment change for customer clerks (2013-2022)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Employed persons by detailed occupation (ISCO-08 two-digit level) [LFSA_EGAI2D__custom_7778289]. Own calculations.
Most customer clerks (74 per cent) are engaged as client information workers. People employed in these jobs provide various kinds of information related to making travel arrangements or appointments, describing the products or services of an organisation, and registering and greeting guests and visitors. They also collect information from survey respondents or applicants for services.
About a quarter of customer clerks are engaged as tellers, money collectors, and related clerks. These workers are occupied in various establishments relating to banking, postal services, betting or gambling, and debt collecting. They perform money-handling operations such as dealing with clients in connection with money operations, conducting gambling games, lending money against articles deposited or other securities, and collecting debts and other payments.
Over the period from 2016 to 2021, the share of employment accounted for client information workers has increased by about 7 percentage points, while that of tellers, money collectors, and related clerks has declined by 6 percentage points.
Figure 2: Employment in customer clerk jobs (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
According to Cedefop's OJA analysis, client information workers dominate the demand for customer clerks. While tellers, money collectors, and related clerks are much less required, as also seen in the employment data, mainly due to the automation of money handling and increased use of wireless transactions.
For more details on skills demand and job openings for this occupation, please access the Cedefop’s Skills OVATE tool.
Figure 3: Online job advertisements for customer clerks (2022, in %)
Source: Skills in Online Job Advertisements indicator based on Cedefop’s Skills OVATE. Own calculations.
Note: Online job advertisements are by definition not equivalent to job vacancies. See Beręsewicz (2021) or Napierala et al. (2022).
Customer clerks are spread across many economic sectors. Their largest share is occupied within the financial and insurance activities sector (around 19 per cent in 2021).A relevant share of customer clerks is employed within the administrative and support service activities sector (15 per cent in 2021). Smaller but noteworthy percentages of customer clerks are employed within various other sectors: public administration and defense, health, wholesale and retail trade, arts, entertainment, recreation, and other service activities, accommodation and food service activities, and the transportation and storage sector.
Figure 4: The top sectors employing customer clerks (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
As regards the share of customer clerks within sectoral employment, these workers form a significant part of the workforce in the financial and insurance activities sector (more than 12 per cent in 2021).
The share of employment of customer clerks is the highest in Spain, followed by Malta, Cyprus and Ireland.
Figure 5: Customer clerks as a share of overall country employment (2021, in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Note: Data for CY, EE, IS, LV and LU have lower reliability because of the small sample size. LFS data for MT are not available.
The workforce is composed mainly of women (around 70 per cent in 2021).
The age distribution of customer clerks does not differ much from that across all occupations. In 2016, the share of customer clerks aged 50 to 64 years was 3 percentage points larger compared to the share of workers in this age group across all occupations. This had not changed by 2021. The share of customer clerks aged 25-49 years declined to 58 per cent in 2021, becoming closer to the level of workers aged 25 to 49 years across all occupations, which reached 57 per cent of customer clerks in 2021.
Figure 6: Customer clerk workforce by age (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Hiring intensity appears to be higher for customer clerks than across all occupations, but not markedly so (see Figure 7). The customer clerks are more likely to have temporary, or part time contracts.
Figure 7: Contract and hiring trends for customer clerks (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Skill needs and future trends
The skills of these clerks are focused on interpersonal capacities. The majority of their time is spent dealing with customers and providing information about products and services. More than 60 per cent of workers also report working with specialised software. Almost all customer workers report using digital devices and office software. This explains why training is more oriented towards digital upskilling.
Figure 8: Skills, training needs, and job perception of customer clerks (in %)
Source: European Skills and Jobs Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Unless stated otherwise, it is a share of people reporting that a task/skill is part of their job.
*Always or often
** Share of workers reporting these needs to a great or moderate extent.
Employment for customer clerks is expected to slightly increase over the period 2022 to 2035. This means that, compared to 2022, there will be about 540 thousand more customer clerk jobs.
Future employment change will vary extensively from one country to another. Employment in nine countries grew in the past decade and it is forecast to do so in the next decade as well. Luxemburg, France, and the Netherlands are among those with the highest past and expected future growths, while Czechia, Estonia, and Sweden represent the opposite trend.
Figure 9: Past and expected future trends of customer clerks
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Cedefop Skills Forecast.
Note: Data for CY, EE, IS, LV, and LU have lower reliability because of the small sample size. LFS data for MT are not available.
New job creation is, however, not the main driver behind the job demand. Most job openings are a result of people leaving them for other opportunities or of those leaving the labour market completely (retirements; parent leave, etc.). This replacement demand for customer clerks is estimated at 2.2 million (Figure 10), which is more than four times more than the forecast new job creation.
Overall, when the expansion demand is added to the replacement one, an estimated 2.7 million job openings for customer clerks will need to be filled in between 2022 and 2035.
Figure 10: Future job openings for customer clerks (000s)
Source: Future job openings indicator based on the Cedefop Skills Forecast. Own calculations.
More than half of customer clerks held medium-level qualifications in 2021 (i.e. at ISCED levels 3 or 4). The qualification level of the occupation is projected to change by 2035. The share of workers with medium levels of qualification is projected to fall to 47 per cent in 2035, while the share of highly qualified workers (i.e. those qualified at ISCED level 5 and over) is projected to increase 48 per cent over the same period.
Looking forward
Customer clerks are typically the first point of contact for customers and are responsible for responding to inquiries, resolving issues, and providing information about products or services. As some of their repetitive job tasks are more susceptible to automation, the future skillsets will focus increasingly more on transversal and soft skills, like communication. Nevertheless, the future of these jobs will be shaped by the digital and green transitions in Europe and the challenges associated with providing various services to Europe’s aging population.
- Customer clerks will need to adapt their skills to changes related to the adoption of new technologies that aim to streamline the operations and improve the efficiency within business offices. For instance, they will need to be proficient in using customer relationship management (CRM) software, chatbots and other digital customer service and support tools. These tools allow businesses to increasingly rely on customer data to inform their decision-making processes (Davis & Bottorff, 2022). For instance, software for managing customer accounts, processing transactions and performing other banking operations is already part of the everyday toolkit for bank tellers. The emergence of ‘smart branches’ signifies that innovations are taking place in the bank service provision, where tech-savvy tellers work with integrated new technologies and advanced analytics to optimise operations (Dallerup et al, 2018). Another subgroup of this occupation – travel agents - will increasingly use technologies such as online booking systems that allow them to book flights, hotels, car rentals and other travel-related services, and travel planning software, which allows creating itineraries, managing bookings, and keeping track of client preferences. Additionally, social media platforms are used to promote travel destinations, and to share travel tips (Pencarelli, 2019).
- Lately, AI-assisted robot technologies (such as drones) have been successfully used for delivering mail and parcels (see a recent example in the Greek city of Trikala). Such technological developments can cope with the growth in the level of parcel delivery in postal, courier, and parcel market networks. Increase in parcel delivery was boosted by the change in consumer habits during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Emerging technologies, like drone delivery, could offer ecological last mile delivery options (European Commission, 2022). The transformation of postal and courier services has several implications for the customer clerks working in the industry. On the one hand, increasing digitalisation implies a decrease in the availability of such jobs. On the other hand, agile and innovative postal service providers will be able to adjust to such changes by organisational restructuring and reskilling and training employees to ensure they are competent to work with these new technologies (McKinsey & Company, 2019). Digital literacy becomes a necessity for anyone working in the postal sector, which can be enhanced by internal training programmes. Nevertheless, soft skills such as communications and teamwork will remain essential competences for customer clerks working in rapidly digitalising postal services (Universal Postal Union, 2019).
- Customer clerks working in the gambling sector, such as bookmakers, croupiers, casino cashiers, gaming dealers or lottery operators are also experiencing the integration of digital tools in their jobs. For instance, online gambling – whose growth was accelerated due to the pandemic lockdowns - offers comfort, flexibility and a wider range of games to players. This has impacted the traditional gambling industry and its workers, including customer clerks. For example, physical casinos are increasingly incorporating a wider diversity of innovative games, including those with virtual and augmented reality components. Such changes imply the need for upskilling, in particular in digital literacy, to be able to work with such technologies. However, as new technologies like AI and robots are increasingly incorporated in the gambling industry, the importance of soft and transversal skills (i.e. communication, or entertainment) remains paramount in the sought after skillsets of gaming dealers and croupiers (Gumbrell, 2022).
- The lockdowns and social distancing measures during the Covid-19 pandemic have increased the pace of digitalisation in the sector, which has set many employers on the path of structural reorganisation. This affects customer clerks severely, as they traditionally have been the first point of contact with customers, conducting tasks that often require physical proximity. For instance, banking institutions shift from hierarchical structures to agile ones (task-oriented teams with more autonomy), redeploy talent from surplus to shortage areas (often customer-service operations related), and increase reskilling (for example, reskilling of tellers to become ‘universal’ bankers or reskilling branch employees to perform back-office duties) (Hu et al, 2021).
- Nevertheless, digital tools are still far from replacing completely the human side of the customer service. For instance, bank tellers are often the first point of contact for customer inquiries and concerns. They are often communicating as the interface between digital banking tools and in-person customers. Travel agents have similar communication skills and work closely with clients to understand travel needs and preferences and explain complex travel arrangements to them. In addition, multicultural knowledge and sensitivity are a must-have skill in the travel agents’ skillset. Developing such transversal competences will remain high on the agenda of facing future skills challenges in tourism (Carlisle et al, 2021).
- Sustainability concerns are gradually shifting demand towards low-carbon, sustainable, and/or recyclable products and services (EIU, 2021). Customer clerks will need to develop awareness about sustainability issues and be able to explain the impact on the environment of the products and services they are selling. This is the case, for example, for travel agents, who will need to promote low-carbon travel packages. In addition, a report by the Next Tourism Generation Alliance lists competence needs related to sustainability in hospitality, such as promoting sustainable forms of transport and environmentally friendly activities and products, and managing waste, sewage, recycling and composting activities. Hotel receptionists will have to be aware of how to promote sustainability in hotel, implement and promote sustainability practices, and engage clients in these actions. Client information clerks at green hospitality establishments will frequently welcome conscious and sustainable customers, who are particularly interested in the eco-centricity of the establishment and its services, the staff’s attitude to eco-friendliness, hotel amenities and location (Olorunsola et al, 2022).
- In the coming decades, customer clerks in hospitality will need to consider the effects of population ageing in Europe on their industry. The ageing population implies changes in customer preferences and increased interactions with the elderly. Adaptation to age-friendly tourism requires excellent communication skills, as well as knowledge of senior oriented-travel modalities. These affect a wide range of workers in this occupation, which will engage more and more with the elderly: travel consultants and agents, hotel and other receptionists, survey and market research interviewers. Workers like bank tellers and croupiers will also need to adapt their communication skills to some extent to provide better services to older customers.
Equipping customer clerks with new skills is important for these workers to stay afloat and competent in a rapidly digitalising business environment. Some of the skills required - especially ‘soft skills’ - cut across most jobs in this occupational group and sectors where these workers are employed. Customer clerks usually need to have completed the first stage of secondary education, but completing the second stage of secondary education may be needed to work in particular jobs positions in this occupational group. According to future Cedefop projections, by 2035 customer clerks with higher education qualifications will equal those with medium level of education.
The initial education and training of customer clerks usually takes the format of vocational training or apprenticeships in companies. For example, in Germany the Industriekaufmann/-frau (Industrial clerk) apprenticeship is a three-year training programme usually taking place at a company. The apprentices will usually learn how customer demand is determined, planning of costs and human resources related issues, instruments for recruitment, the processing of payments, and provision of customer support. At Deutsche Bahn, a particular apprenticeship is offered in conjunction with a vocational school in Munich. The customer clerks get an insight into several areas of Deutsche Bahn, such as Human Resources, marketing and controlling. In addition, they learn about the value-creation processes and economic decision-making while participating in cross-departmental projects to know the business processes. The apprenticeship for the conseiller service clientèle (customer clerk) in Belgium takes the format of a five month training course with work placement. This training includes the development of soft skills, which are necessary to communicate with customers, suppliers, partners, and other companies. In addition, the formation includes IT-tools like artificial intelligence, cloud computing and big data principles.
The apprentice and vocational education students are also encouraged to take in further training experiences, such as internships. Internships differ from apprenticeships in that they consist of unpaid work, which is not associated with a credential and does not necessarily lead to a paid job contract after its end. For instance, the FU International Academy located in Tenerife offers a catalogue of internship opportunities for hospitality students, as explained below.
Hospitality Internship (ERASMUS+ Internships for Apprentices) The internship is targeted at VET Hospitality students to give them a chance to gain valuable and relevant qualifications within their chosen profession. Through this experience, interns gain work experience while adapting to various environments and using the knowledge obtained during their apprenticeship to help further their career. Interns also have the chance to soak up some culture as they explore the tropical island of Tenerife through different leisure activities and group excursions. Students can participate in a short-term work placement of up to 6 weeks, or a long-term placement of 6 months. All interns start their hospitality internship with a one-week basic Spanish course in order to linguistically prepare for their work experience, specifically learning language associated with the hospitality sector. Interns are then enrolled in a three-day course to help prepare them for working in a Spanish restaurant or hotel. After their theoretical training, interns receive a spot at one of the 4 participating establishments in their field of studies. Here, students work hands-on with local clients and trainers as they complete specific tasks, such as that of a receptionist, waiter/waitress, housekeeper, administrative assistant, kitchen helper, bartender and/or customer relationship officer. Within these establishments, interns are guided and evaluated by a supervisor, ensuring each student learns confidently and effectively as they gain valuable work and intercultural experience. Source: Learning in the Sun |
In addition to initial training, customer clerks will need to upgrade their skillsets and competences throughout their careers. This is necessary to keep up with technological developments as well as with the regulatory frameworks relevant in their field. This type of training can help current customer clerks to cope with the rapid changes in their work environment. Continuous learning can take multiple formats and is offered by a variety of stakeholders – sectoral skills alliances, education providers, as well as employers. Micro-credentials are an increasingly popular form of certified learning experiences which seek to develop skills, competences and knowledge on a specific topic.
For travel consultants, the Blueprint skills alliance in tourism (Next Generation Tourism Alliance) has defined a skills development strategy to address sustainable approaches and new strategies in the training of professionals in tourism. The Alliance presents a selection of training courses/modules that are offered by different providers, as the example below showcases.
Sustainable Destination Management (online course) The UNWTO (The World Tourism Organisation) is a specialised UN agency responsible for sustainable tourism. They offer a course catalogue on their website, from providers across the world. One of such is the Sustainable Destination Management online course that is run by Lucerne University HSLU for the duration of four weeks. During the course, students will follow modules on
Source: UNWTO Tourism Online Academy |
How to cite this publication:
Cedefop (2023). Customer clerks: skills opportunities and challenges. Skills intelligence data insight.
Further reading
Beręsewicz, M. and Pater, R. (2021). Inferring job vacancies from online job advertisements, Luxembourg: Publications Office, 2021. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-statistical-working-papers/-/ks-tc-20-008
Carlisle, S., Ivanov, S., Dijkmans, C. (2021). ‘The digital skills divide : evidence from the European tourism industry’, Journal of Tourism Futures
Cedefop (2023). Skills in transition: the way to 2035. Luxembourg: Publications Office. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/438491
Dallerup, K., Jayantilal, S., Konov, G., Legradi, A., Stockmeier, H.-M. (2018). ‘A bank branch for the digital age’, McKinsey & Company: Financial Services, article, published 18 July 2018
Davis, L. & Bottorff, C. (2022). ‘Types of CRM Applications Explained: Which One is Best For You?’, in Forbes (Advisor: Business), last update 27 December 2022
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (2021). ‘An eco-wakening: Measuring awareness, engagement, an action for nature’, World Wildlife Fund, report, published 17 May 2021
European Commission (2019). The European Green Deal. COM(2019) 640 final
European Commission (2022). ‘Developments in the postal sectors (2017-2021)’. Vol. 1, Main report, Publications Office of the EU: Luxembourg
Gumbrell, L. (2022). ‘Getting hands on with the future of live casino’, iGamingBusiness, article, published 13 July 2022
Hu, H., Jadoul, Q., Reich, A. (2021). ‘How banks can build their future workforce – today’, in McKinsey & Company: Financial Services, article, published 17 August 2021
McKinsey & Company (2019). ‘The endgame for postal networks: How to win in the age of e-commerce’. McKinsey & Company: Travel, Transport & Logistics, published April 2019
Napierala, J.; Kvetan, V. and Branka, J. (2022). Assessing the representativeness of online job advertisements. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Cedefop working paper, No 17. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/807500
Olorunsola, V.O., Saydam, M.B., Arasli, H., Sulu, D. (2022), ‘Guest service experience in eco-centric hotels: a content analysis’, in International Hospitality Review, Vol. ahead of print
Pencarelli, T. (2019). ‘The digital revolution in the travel and tourism industry’, in Information Technology & Tourism, Vol. 22, pp. 455-476
Universal Postal Union (2019). ‘The digital economy and digital postal activities – a global panorama’, UPU: Berne, Switzerland
Data insights details
Table of contents
Page 1
SummaryPage 2
Employment and job demandPage 3
Skill needs and future trendsPage 4
Looking forwardPage 5
Further reading