ACS Statistical Compendium 2012
- ICT industry revenue up by 12 per cent to $91 billion (CIIER T250 2011)
- Additional 12,300 ICT industry jobs for year to February 2013
- Domestic university ICT course commencement levels halved compared to 2003
November 13 2012: The Australian Computer Society (ACS) today released the annual Australian ICT Statistical Compendium, a comprehensive analysis of statistical data about ICT economic and social trends.
Designed to provide ICT policy makers and business leaders with annual and trend data, the ACS annual compendium is an important summary of how the local Australian ICT industry is performing.
ICT Contribution to the Economy
| Value of Digital Economy | $100.2 billion in 2011 | 7.74% of GDP |
| Revenue of ICT Industry | $91 billion | Increase of 11% y-o-y |
Alan Patterson, ACS Chief Executive said: "The latest data indicates the Australian ICT sector's continued growth is consistent with our 2011 projections. In just twelve months, ICT industry revenue grew 11% to $92 billion, playing an important role in driving the nation's $100 billion digital economy.
"ICT now rivals mining in terms of its contribution to the economy, and unlike resources, technology and innovation is not a finite resource but has boundless potential for development."
ICT Job Market
| Total all sector ICT technical, professional, and management staff | 381,010 | Increased from 280,100 in 2003 |
| Total ICT Industry staff | 291,088 | Increased from 222,686 in 2003 |
| ICT Jobs Demand Forecast | 12,300 | In line with expectations |
Last year, the 2011 ACS Statistical Compendium forecast 14,000 jobs in 2012 with an additional 21,000 roles in 2013. ABS data from February 2012 confirmed this prediction to be highly accurate. The 2012 ACS Statistical Compendium projects an increase in ICT professional and technical employment of 12,300 in the year to February 2013 with further growth anticipated to 2015, depending on macro-economic conditions.
"With more than 381,000 ICT professionals in Australia, the sector continues to offer a variety of growth prospects for suitably qualified and experienced staff," said Mr Patterson. "Jobs demand is in line with our previous forecasts and we expect to see more continued growth in demand for skilled ICT professionals."
ICT Education & Skills
| Projected University Completions (domestic students) | 4,547 |
Down from 9,093 in 2003 |
| Projected University Completions (international students) | 10,505 |
Up from 10,013 in 2003 |
| Publicly funded VET ICT course commencements | 42,700 | Down 6.6% from 2010, and down 36% since 2006 |
Data from the 2011 ACS Statistical Compendium indicated that national commencements in ICT university courses in 2010 were half of what they were a decade previously. New data in 2012 shows that domestic student completion rates are just 54.6%, with only 4,547 domestic students projected to graduate from university ICT courses in 2012.
Mr Patterson said: "According to the latest data there continues to be skills shortages across the ICT sector. With only 4,547 ICT graduates expected in 2012 and an additional 12,300 ICT roles expected, the shortfall in young people starting and completing ICT courses continues to be a major risk to both the ICT sector and to the nation's economy.
"The disconnect between the 31 per cent growth in ICT industry employment since 2003 and the 53 per cent decline in domestic ICT graduates over the same period, is a stark underscoring of a broken supply/demand equation. In the US, commencements in undergraduate computer science programs rose 9.6 per cent in the 2011-12 school year and if Australia hopes to compete on the international stage more must be done to increase the engagement of students in ICT."
Business use of Internet and ICT Support
| Australian businesses with no web presence | 60% |
| Australian businesses that make and receive orders via the internet | 46.5% place orders 24.8% receive orders |
| Business using "non-IT specialists" for IT support | 21.7% |
| Businesses with no IT support | 13.4% |
Mr Patterson comments: "One important addition to this year's compendium is the latest data on how business in Australia are taking part in the digital economy. Of particular interest is that, according to the latest ABS data available, as many as 60 per cent of Australian businesses have no online presence, and only one in four are using the internet to receive orders.
"Underlining the need of Australian businesses for professional ICT is the fact that one in five businesses are relying on non-IT specialists for IT support, while 13.4 per cent have no IT support at all. "
The ACS Statistical Compendium 2012 is available at: www.acs.org.au/2012compendium.
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Media Contacts
Ashford Pritchard, Launch Group
e: ashford@launchgroup.com.au
t: +61 (0) 2 9492 1040
m: +61 (0) 411 020 680
About the Australian Computer Society
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is the professional association for Australia's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. Over 20,000 ACS members work in business, education, government and the community. The Society exists to create the environment and provide the opportunities for members and partners to succeed. The ACS strives for ICT to be recognised as a driver of innovation in our society, relevant across all sectors, and to promote the formulation of effective policies on ICT and related matters. Visit www.acs.org.au for more information.