WA is estimated to have the country’s fastest growing IT workforce over the next five years with annual growth of 3.2 per cent, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Computer Society.
Western Australia is predicted to have the country’s fastest growing IT workforce over the next five years with annual growth of 3.2 per cent, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Computer Society.
The report, '2019 ACS Australia’s Digital Pulse', was prepared by Deloitte Access Economics to analyse Australia’s IT sector and provide an evidence base for broader public discussion on digital issues.
It predicted WA would need 3.2 per cent more technology workers annually over the next five years and 2.3 per cent nationwide, exceeding the overall workforce growth of 1.3 per cent per year.
The report suggested Queensland's IT workforce would grow annually by 2.9 per cent, 2.6 per in the ACT, 2.5 per cent in Victoria, 1.9 per cent in South Australia and 1.8 per cent in NSW.
The report said there would be 9,550 more technology jobs in WA by 2024 and 100,000 nationwide.
Of these 100,000 jobs, 80 per cent would be in IT management, operations and technical and professional occupations.
Health was cited as a field with major opportunities as it was estimated the sector would need to double its IT workforce.
The uptake of technology degrees by domestic students at university has increased by over 50 per cent since the late 2000s.
In WA, 267 students graduated from IT degrees in 2017 and almost 6,000 graduated nationally.
However, the report said technology workers in Australia would need a further 164,000 qualifications over the period in trend terms, with a majority of these being undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
Skilled workers will need to enter the workforce as new graduates, skilled migrants and the existing workforce will need to retrain to meet the demands of the sector.
The report noted, however, the number of visas granted for technology workers had declined by 26 per cent in 2017-18, most likely due to the Temporary Skills Shortage visa replacing the 475 visa, and was unlikely to be a sufficient or sustainable source of workers.
ACS president Yohan Ramasundara said meeting the demands for more technology workers and increased investments from business and governments would be a challenge.
“The current pipeline is insufficient and new pathways will need to be found,” he said.
“There are three key policy priorities for driving the growth of Australia’s digital economy, these are boosting skills, startups and investment - the highest priority of these is skills development.”
WA Innovation and ICT Minister Dave Kelly said the WA government was investing in the IT industry to meet the state’s future needs through developing STEM skills of Western Australians, investing in research, the development of startups and businesses and establishing innovation hubs.
