Employment and Education Top Priority List for ICT Professionals

Friday 7 May 2004 - Employment issues continue to dominate the concerns of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals, according to an online survey of ACS (Australian Computer Society) members.

When asked to list their Top Five priorities for the ACS to address in 2004, 67 per cent of all respondents placed Employment at the top of their list, followed by Education & Training (51per cent) and Professional Networking (43 per cent). Offshoring ran a close fourth with 42 per cent including it in their Top Five.

The poll also demonstrated very strong support for the ICT professional association's renewed focus on policy development and lobbying Canberra, with over 97 per cent registering their agreement.

"After two years of very tough times for this industry sector, ICT professionals are very conscious that jobs remain an uncertain resource," said ACS national president, Edward Mandla.

"They believe that our political representatives, and the community in general, need a greater appreciation of how important ICT is to our future and have given me a strong mandate to increase our lobbying and marketing efforts in this direction," he said.

While employment issues dominated member concerns, other issues highlighted in the poll included Security/Terrorism & Technology, ICT Work/Life Issues, Spam and Ethical Use of Technology

Employment-related issues also influenced members' expectations of the ACS itself. When asked about which services would best support them as professionals, they gave preference to Professional Development, Professional Networking, Best Practice, Training, Career Advice and Recruitment Services.

"Our last Employment Survey, released in February this year, highlighted a significant level of dissatisfaction with the way recruitment agencies operate in this sector. This latest poll confirms that our members would like us to consider how we can assist them in that area so we'll be looking at our options in that regard," said Mr Mandla.

This latest survey, one in a series of online polls of ACS members, attracted 1,745 responses from around Australia and overseas. The ICT professional association plans to conduct bi-monthly surveys on a range of topical issues to assist its efforts in driving ICT policy.

"Working as an ICT professional requires you to visualise the future and see how technology can be applied to enhance peoples' lives. I want to harness the vision and creativity of our members to comment on relevant issues and provide a sounding board for government polices affecting the use and development of ICT."

Mr Mandla said the survey also made it clear that members wanted the ACS to play a more active role in industry development.

"The area of industry development will be a key focus of my agenda for the second half of this year and we'll be allocating substantial resources and attention towards creating policies that will help to effect change," he said.

Mr Mandla believes more needs to be done to support ICT start-ups and encourage the growth of local ventures, as well as attracting multinational investment.

"We need to provide a more attractive investment environment to encourage international companies to base their regional headquarters in Australia. One of the key steps is to reduce personal tax rates to minimise the disparity between Australia and our Asian neighbours.

Mr Mandla is also calling for a more equitable venture capital arrangement, suggesting the current system of trying to pick winners doesn't work.

"We need wide-ranging seed funding to provide opportunities for a diverse array of start-up businesses. Once the 20 per cent most likely to succeed filter to the top, we need more targeted funding to really kick start them and help them grow into global concerns," he said.

This media release is available on the ACS Web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/070504.htm

ENDS

The ACS (Australian Computer Society) is the recognised professional association for those working in Information and Communications Technology, seeking to raise the standing of ICT professionals and represent their views to government, industry and the community. A member of the Australian Council of Professions, the ACS is the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the ICT sector, committed to ensuring the beneficial use of ICT for all Australians. It provides both members and non-members with opportunities for professional education, networking and certification, as well as enabling them to contribute to the development of their profession. Visit www.acs.org.au for more information.

ACS - ICT Professionals Shaping our Future

Media Enquiries:

Edward Mandla, ACS National President, Tel: (02) 8257 1777, Email: edwardm@acslink.net.au

Caroline New, New Media, Tel: (02) 9555 1986 or 04111 889 456, Email: cnew@bigpond.com