Tech skills: CIO Steward flattens demand spikes

James Riley
Sunday, 13 September 2009 08:30

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

The Australian Government will cope with expected skills shortages in the tech sector as the economy picks up through better management of public sector demand,  the Commonwealth's chief information officer Ann Steward says.

In fact, much of the Australian Government Information Management Office’s (AGIMO) work on bringing expensive contractors into full-time employment in the public service has focused on hammering out costly spikes in demand.

Steward has so far brought more than 200 contractor positions back into the APS and says more positions will follow as Gershon-inspired changes to public service ICT positions are further implemented.

And while some recruiters are already saying Government will face an out-flow of tech skills when the economy returns to capacity – as highly skilled workers seek to get better returns by becoming contractors – Steward says the Commonwealth will remain an employer of choice.

AGIMO has been working with the Australian Public Service Commission to create better long-term career paths for public sector ICT workers – who had previously had no structured road-map for advancement in the APS. Enhanced cadetship and internship programs were a part of that process.

But it is through demand management that Steward says the real savings are made. She says avoiding the demand spike similar to that which occurred between 2004-05 and 2006-07 will deliver the biggest cost savings over time.

That spike, and the somewhat uncoordinated approach among various departments, led to the Government competing with itself for scarce resources – unnecessarily driving up the cost of contractors (not just for Government, but across the economy.)

"This is not just about the career paths that people can pursue, but recognising what the demands, are and what skills are going to be needed," Steward told iTWire.

"This was about agencies going out and seeking contract resources and perhaps being far too eager in the prices that they were will to pay and therefore inflating overall the base-rate for contractors unnecessarily," she said.

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