Download PDF
Contents
Conclusion
Technical communicators in Australia and New Zealand face many challenges in the work they do. They have adapted into their roles, which appears to be gratifying to them because they have shifted into a niche that they enjoy. However, it has taken many years and extra individual effort and education. To minimize the exploration and time and to get situated as technical communicators more expeditiously, they could be better enabled with more formal-education opportunities, an idea that has also been noted in research on technical communicators in India (Matheson & Petersen, 2020) and for learners worldwide via online instruction (St. Amant, 2007). This would effectively provide foundational skills required for more focused and concerted efforts of the practice, to become collectively adaptive in an environment where work techniques and ethical requirements are becoming more explicit and challenging. That said, we found high levels of experience and adaptation from one educational field into TPC among these participants and such on-the-job training seems to have served them well.
The technical communicators we interviewed came from various industries and cultures; they would likely benefit from a more defined technical communication community collectively focused to address the common challenges that they all face. Moreover, the industries within this region of the world would benefit immensely from a concerted effort toward enabling technical communicators to more readily address their education, work technique, and ethical challenges through formal training. The industries that require technical communication training will benefit in fostering an environment where formally educated technical writers are developed within companies; otherwise, they will be limited to the self-development of subject matter experts within their organizations who adapt themselves into TPC roles.
The relevance of technical communication is clear, and the ethics, adaptation, value, community, and workplace challenges of technical communicators are illuminated in this study. The future of technical communication in Australia and New Zealand is pending a collective effort in these aspects to dynamically address the rapid evolution of technology, industry, and globalization (Munshi & McKie, 2001; Starke-Meyerring, Duin, & Palvetzian, 2007; Agboka, 2012). Overall, Kiwi and Aussie writers are working to meet these challenges through inclusivity, community-oriented workplaces, and an awareness of user needs.