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ICT unemployment at lowest level in years
Stan Beer
Monday, 18 September 2006 06:16
The survey is based on responses from ACS members and reflects a 7.3% decrease in the unemployment rate reported by members since 2003 – with a significant 67% of respondents claiming they have not experienced any period of unemployment over the past five years, according to the ACS
Other key findings in the ACS members’ survey include:
More than two thirds (69.5%) of respondents were employed full time (in excess of 35 hours per week).
On state-by-state figures, unemployment of ACS members is lower than the ABS national average in SA (2.2%) & Qld (4.1%) but remains higher than national average in NSW (7.9%), Tas (8.3%), Vic (5.5%) and WA (6.2%).
Half the respondents of the Survey had worked more than ten years in the ICT industry in Australia. A correlation between age and functional responsibility indicates that younger respondents are more commonly in development and implementation or technical support and maintenance.
Almost 90% of respondents indicated they had undertaken some form of training over the past three years. Self-employed proprietors were most likely to have undertaken training, along with those working full time
62% had undertaken ICT related training, 43% had taken personal development training and 39% had undertaken business related training, in the past three years.
The internet was again considered to be the best source of new ICT positions, with newspapers and recruitment agencies given a low ranking. Networking and word of mouth remained important sources of employment.
20% of respondents reported that they had been discriminated against on the basis of their age. Discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity was also a factor with 11% of respondents stating this to be the case. Students were highly represented in this group.
37% of female respondents felt they had been discriminated against on the basis of gender, compared with 1.3% of males. Female respondents were more likely to be hourly contract employees or students seeking work.
Philip Argy, ACS, President said: “This year’s survey indicates ICT professionals are experiencing continued employment growth across all sectors. This more positive outlook is also reflected in the increased number of respondents who are in full time salaried employment.
“The key challenge for our industry in the coming decade is getting the skills match right. With profound skills gaps in many industry areas, training and retraining is critical. Importing skills, or exporting work overseas, should be our last resort. This means our local ICT professionals require a well-rounded skills base, with particular attention to soft skills like project management, people management, negotiation and business case (ROI) development.
Mr Argy said, whist the employment results are encouraging, the age and sex discrimination experienced by some professionals is concerning, as is the pocket of long term ICT unemployed whose skills are vastly undervalued.
“The ACS recently released a National Statement for the Governments of Australia at the ‘Technologists of Public Interest’ summit in Queensland, which addresses pressing ICT issues such as identity, governance and codes of ethics. Queensland’s Deputy Premier, Anna Bligh, promised to look carefully at the substantial recommendations and we look forward to a meeting and an opportunity to progress the TIPI outcomes.
“We encourage all Governments to engage with the recommendations to establish an ethics code and create a positive pathway for the industry’s future,” he said.
The 2006 ACS Survey is the fourth in the series providing detailed information on the employment outlook for ICT professionals in Australia. Its aim is to assist ICT professionals and those contemplating a career in the industry, with a useful overview of employment conditions in the profession.
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