A pathway to help the Australian Government reach its target of 1.2 million tech-related jobs by 2030 has been laid out in a new report from the tech sector.
Getting to 1.2 million: Our roadmap to create a thriving Australian tech workforce is the product of a collaboration between tech industry groups brought together at Australia's Digital Employment Forum.
The report comes as the Government takes its first step to meeting its tech jobs target, introducing legislation to create an interim Jobs and Skills Australia, a body dedicated to understanding and addressing the nation's skills crisis.
Launching the report at the forum in Canberra today, the Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic said the Australian Government would act on its 5 calls for action.
These are:
• Increasing understanding and awareness of job opportunities
• Fixing gaps in education and training products and pathways
• Improving the diversity of the tech workforce
• Targeting skilled migration to areas of high need and greatest shortages
• Improving industry-level supply and demand analysis
"The report finds that Australia will need an additional 650,000 tech workers by 2030 to meet the 2030 target and we can only do that if the tech industry and the government works closely together," Minister Husic said.
"One of my early priorities as Minister will be to organise a roundtable to meet with key stakeholders in the tech sector to work towards shared goals.
"The Government is already taking action which is in line with the recommendations of the report.
"We will create an environment for success by building our national training system, backing final year student and graduate entrepreneurs, and buying and making things in Australia.
"We will make tech a top priority area for the 465,000 fee-free TAFE places and additional 20,000 university places this Government will deliver."
"Our Future Made in Australia plan will spark demand for Australian-made products. We'll create good jobs and give Australians the skills to secure them," Minister Husic said.
"We are also committed to improving migration settings to support high productivity and wages in all sectors, including the tech sector."
Recent moves by the Government to clear the backlog of skilled visa applications is expected to boost sectors including tech, providing a strong and urgent response to the report's call to accelerate visa processing times.
Australia's Digital Employment Forum brings together major tech employers and educators, facilitated by the Tech Council of Australia in conjunction with the Australian Government funded Digital Skills Organisation pilot. The forum aims to transform the way Australia attracts and trains tech workers.
