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Australia’s politicians need to think bigger about tech
ACS calls for greater visionary thinking about the industries of the future
24 March 2022 – For immediate release
ACS, the professional association for Australia’s technology sector, today called on Australia’s political and business leaders to be more visionary in their planning for future jobs.
The call comes after the Federal Opposition Leader, Mr Anthony Albanese, announced a national target of 1.2 million IT jobs by 2030.
Digital Pulse, ACS’ annual survey of the Australian technology sector, last year flagged this would be achieved by 2027 just on the industry’s current growth rates of 5.4%, which is four times greater than broader economy’s forecast.
ACS President, Dr Nick Tate, welcomed the ALP’s commitment, adding: “while we are delighted to see the Opposition embrace these targets, we feel they are not ambitious enough.
“The Digital Pulse report found we’re going to have demand for over 1.1m technology jobs by 2026 and on current growth rates the nation will need around 1.3m tech workers by 2030.”
“Given the technology sector is key to Australia’s continued prosperity, future living standards and competitiveness, and industry is needing skills in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing and data analytics, ACS believes we should be more ambitious in our targets.
“In our 2022 Election Platform, we outlined initiatives that would boost the supply of technology literate workers and ensure students have the skills required by tomorrow’s society.”
ACS’ nine-point election platform proposes nine measures to boost the nation’s tech sector over the term of the next government.
· A $500m program to boost the technology profession’s diversity and inclusion
· $100m to encourage Digital Technologies education in schools
· A $10,000 employer tax credit for improving the workforce’s digital skills
· Stronger cybersecurity rules for government agencies and contractors
· A $100m crackdown on spam and scams
· $500m for growing Australia’s regional digital economy
· Establishment of a Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
· Creating a Cabinet-level Digital Economy portfolio
· Establishing a commission to evaluate the needs of tomorrow’s workforce
Dr Tate concluded: “ACS is genuinely pleased to see the ALP’s commitments and feel they will go some way to addressing the technology demands of Australia’s businesses and society over the next few years.
“However, we would like all of our political leaders to consider how critical a digitally-skilled workforce will be to Australia over coming decades and look to the longer term and bigger picture issues facing our 21st-Century economy.
“Regardless of who wins the Federal election, we look forward to working closely with the next government in delivering the jobs essential for Australia’s future.”
-ENDS-
Director of Corporate Affairs and Public Policy
About Us
ACS is the professional association for Australia’s technology sector and the largest community with 47,000+ members from across business, government and education.
ACS champions the technologies, people and skills critical to Australia’s future, creating value for ACS members, the tech sector and society in four ways:
Community
Our focus is on fostering an innovative and inclusive community that is dedicated to powering positive change through technology.
Capability
We set the standard for assessing, developing and recognising the skills and experience of technology professionals.
Career
We create career pathways to guide technology professionals and ensure Australia has a pipeline of talent with the right skills and knowledge.
Migration
We assess and support skilled technology migrants to address critical skills shortages, improve diversity and enrich Australia’s workforce.
Find out more at: acs.org.au