NT to see strong ICT jobs growth over next five years
Digital Pulse report forecasts Territory tech sector to build on strong 2020.
1 October 2021
The Northern Territory’s ICT workforce is forecast to see strong growth over coming years after 2021’s steady growth, says the 2021 ACS Digital Pulse report.
Despite the disruptions of the COVID pandemic, the Territory’s tech workforce saw a steady 3.5% growth during 2020, the report found.
Prepared by Deloitte Access Economics for ACS, Digital Pulse tracks the key trends in Australia’s technology workforce and the sector’s potential over the next five years. Key findings in this year’s report for the Northern Territory include:
• 2021 saw the Territory’s ICT workforce grow 3.5% to 4,352 workers.
• The NT’s IT sector workforce is forecast to grow 5.4% per annum over the next five years, in line with the national average.
• The five-year growth though is lower than Victoria’s (5.8%) and Queensland’s (5.9%), although higher than NSW’s (4.8%).
The report can be downloaded from the ACS website at www.acs.org.au. National findings of the report included.
• Over the next five years, the technology workforce is forecast to exceed 1.1m Australians, growing more than four times faster than the broader labour force numbers.
• Young Australians are recognising the value of digital skills with IT being the fastest growing field of education for domestic enrolments with over 41,000 in 2019.
• Nevertheless, current trends indicate an impending gap between the need for extra 60,000 technology workers each year and just 7,000 domestic IT degree graduates. Boosting reskilling and restarting skilled migration will be essential to meet Australia’s ICT needs.
• The Australian ICT sector’s gender imbalance threatens to hold the economy back, as achieving parity in the industry would boost employment by 5,000 new workers a year in the first 20 years.
• The top software programming skills demanded by employers include SQL (requested in 14% of job postings), Java (10%) and DevOps (9%).
ACS NT Branch Chair, Damien Charles, said of the Territory’s results: “The findings of the report show a great result for the Northern Territory on paper, but there’s a lot of work to be done to make sure we deliver on the promise of tech job growth.
“Our first priority is to grow our own, and invest in Territorians. COVID has directly affected skilled migration into Australia, which means to meet the growing demands for skilled ICT professionals we need to focus on our VET and University sector’s.
“We need to find new ways to help students bridge the gap between academic studies and the expectations and needs of business as they enter the industry. Our focus also needs to include promotion of the ICT industry to women, and working towards a more inclusive and welcoming profession and industry.”
Nationally, the ICT sector growth will provide challenges for the economy, Digital Pulse warns. The report identifies a looming gap between the 60,000 new technology workers needed per year and the current numbers of domestic IT degree completions.
The future of the Australian technology workforce will greatly rely on reskilling from other industries. Meanwhile, the lack of female participation could cost the economy $11bn over the next two decades unless we accelerate towards gender parity across the technology workforce.”
This year’s Digital Pulse identifies five areas where Australia could address its ICT weaknesses:
o Promote ICT education
o Deepen digital skills across industries
o Boost female participation in ICT
o Re-energise digital transformation programs
o Identify IT contractors’ capabilities
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Further information
Troy Steer
Director of Corporate Affairs and Public Policy
M – 0417 173 740
E – troy.steer@acs.org.au
About ACS
ACS is the professional association for Australia's technology sector. More than 48,000 ACS members work in business, education, government and the community. ACS exists to create the environment and provide the opportunities for members and partners to succeed. ACS strives technology professionals to be recognised as drivers of innovation in our society, relevant across all sectors, and to promote the formulation of effective policies on technology and related matters. Visit www.acs.org.au for more information.