Australian IT&T growth hamstrung by skills shortages

Stan Beer
Monday, 25 February 2008 07:15

IT People - Enterprise

A new report from peak body the Australian Computer Society (ACS) shows that industry growth in IT and Telecommunications is being hampered by skills shortages with job vacancies skyrocketing to levels not seen before.

According to the ACS ICT Industry Report, conducted for the ACS by the Centre for Innovative Industries Economic Research Inc (CIIER), as of January 2008 growth in the number of ICT workers, including ICT industry employees, was slowing and shortages of workers was becoming apparent. The total number of ICT workers in Australia stood at 514,000, of which 268,000 were employed in the ICT industry.

Tellingly, however, was the continued decline in the amount of ICT R&D, despite strong growth in ICT industry revenue. The Australian ICT industry continues to be an SME dominated market, with few big players capable of making an impact on the global stage. According to the ACS report, a limited number of companies currently have the critical mass for international growth -  over 96 per cent of software and computer services firms are small to micro sized.

ACS President Kumar Parakala said the primary concern identified by the ACS Industry Report was that ICT skills shortages are now negatively impacting ICT industry performance. Mr Parakala said this will have significant economic flow-on effects for Australia and Australian business at a time when global industry growth is paramount.

"Australia’s ICT priorities must be top of mind if Australia is to maintain its globally competitive position. This includes encouraging more people to enter or re-enter the ICT workforce, particularly women and older workers. It’s important for industry and Government to collaborate on creating a sustainable ICT ecosystem that will help manage and grow the ICT workforce.” Mr Parakala said.

Mr Parakala believes Australia risks losing its competitive edge internationally if the Government doesn't address the ICT R&D issues.

“In order to make Australian IT companies competitive, we need a greater focus on innovation & ICT R&D – this is what’s required to build economic prosperity. The ACS believes information knowledge creation or knowledge process outsourcing should be the focus of efforts by Government and industry, as well as supporting ICT R&D to create an environment conducive to innovation. We require an Australian ICT industry that is a magnet for private investment to support R&D and commercialisation of technology through large, multi-disciplinary commercial R&D and product realisation centres. We have now reached the tipping point and if the industry is not supported by the Federal Government, Australia will slip further down the line on the global stage. We are calling for the Governments of Australia and key ICT industry stakeholders to work together to support industry growth and improve Australia’s ICT performance by increasing funding for ICT R&D,” Mr Parakala said.