West Australia’s tech sector leads nation

 

2022 Digital Pulse report shows WA has Australia’s fastest growing IT workforce

 

 

24 August 2022

 

West Australia had the nation’s fastest technology sector growing technology workforce last year, according to the 2022 ACS Digital Pulse report.

 

The state’s technology workforce jumped just short of 16%, almost double the national average of 8.04%, with the mining sector employing nearly 5,000 of the state’s IT workers, an increase of 33% on the previous year’s figures.

 

Prepared by Deloitte Access Economics for ACS, Digital Pulse tracks the key trends in Australia’s technology workforce and the sector’s potential over the next five years. Key West Australian findings in this year’s report include:

 

•       60,404 West Australians now work in the IT sector.

 

•       The workforce has grown by 8,320, a gain of 15.97%, in the past year.

 

•       Over the next five years, expected to grow to 82,726.

 

•       Annual growth of the state’s tech workforce over the next five years is estimated to be 5.4%, on par with the rest of the nation.

 

•       Mining is increasingly becoming a major technology employer in WA with the sector’s IT workforce growing 32.9%, up 1,181, on the previous year.

 

ACS West Australian Chair, Ms Jeanene Williams, said of the West Australian results: “This year’s Digital Pulse shows how the technology sector is a key part of the West’s economy. The stunning growth in the mining sector’s employment of tech workers shows just how critical digital technologies are to all the state’s industries.

 

“At ACS we’re working with the state government, industry and education providers to meet the ever-growing demand for digitally literate workers and technology professionals with the skills essential to keep the state moving.”

 

“We’re also hoping the Federal government’s upcoming Jobs and Skills summit recognises how important the technology sector is to WA’s economy and works with the state government to help build the West’s digital skills.”

 

Nationally, the report found Australia’s tech workforce grew by 8% over the previous year, with over 870,000 Australians now working in IT roles. By comparison, the workforce as a whole only grew 3.4%.

 

In the next five years the tech sector will employ over 1.2 million Australians, with the workforce having an average annual growth rate of 5.5%, the report found.  

 

Digital Pulse also flagged the need for Australian businesses and government to do more to train workers and encourage greater diversity in the technology workforce. Women represent only 31% of the technology workers, compared to 48% across the Australian workforce.

 

In the report, ACS recommends seven measures to address the nation’s technology skills needs:

 

1.           develop and promote workplace policies to encourage diverse technology talent

 

2.           provide schoolteachers with more resources to improve student digital literacy and increase awareness of technology career pathways

 

3.           greater coordination between agencies to develop skills in the technology workforce

 

4.           further encourage businesses to deepen digital skills in other occupations

 

5.           work to retain existing technology talent in Australia

 

6.           encourage employers to consider more diverse pathways into the technology sector

 

7.           boost government and industry investment in the technology sector.

 

John O’Mahony, Partner at Deloitte Access Economics and co-author of the Digital Pulse series added: “Australia’s tech workforce growth has been astonishing – we will soon have one million tech workers in this country.

 

“Individuals can earn, on average, an extra $11,000 every year in salary in tech occupations compared with other professional occupations. If we can boost diversity in the technology workforce it could be worth over $20 billion to our economy over the next two decades.”

 

Digital Pulse also highlighted how businesses can better retain current workers and attract new staff by supporting diverse workforces and flexible working conditions.

 

The full 2022 Digital Pulse report can be downloaded from the ACS website at www.acs.org.au.

 

 

 

-ENDS-

 

 

 

Further information

 

Troy Steer

 

Director of Corporate Affairs and Public Policy

 

M – 0417 173 740

 

E – troy.steer@acs.org.au

 

 

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