Government says tech workforce a 'top priority area'
The Australian government is one step ahead in actualizing its target of 1.2mil tech-related jobs by 2030, as the tech sector laid out in a new report its plans for the tech workforce, Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic said.
According to the minister’s media release, the report “Getting to 1.2 million: Our roadmap to create a thriving Australian tech workforce” resulted from the partnership between tech industry sectors at the recently held Digital Employment Forum.
Calls for action
The report, launched at the forum in Canberra on 2 August, came as the government took its first step to meet its tech jobs target, including introducing legislation to create an interim Jobs and Skills Australia, Husic said in a media release.
The interim Jobs and Skills Australia, according to Husic, is a body at the forefront of understanding and addressing Australia’s skills shortage.
“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,” Husic said.
Additionally, the minister for industry and science said that the Australian government is dedicated to addressing its five calls for action, and these include:
- 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
Prioritizing tech jobs
Following the recommendations in the report, Husic assured the public that the government was already in action.
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Husic also said that among the key priorities of his office is organizing a roundtable discussion to meet with key stakeholders in the tech sector to collaborate toward shared goals.
“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,” Husic said.
“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,” he added.
Moreover, the minister noted that the Future Made in Australia plan would generate demands for Australian-made products, produce good jobs, and provide Australians with the skills to secure them.
Improving migration measures will also be a top priority of the government as this will enable further productivity and support wages in all sectors, including the tech workforce, Husic said.
“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,” the Minister for Industry and Science’s media release stated.