| Skills shortages threatens Australia's ICT growth |
The Australian ICT industry is in danger of stagnating according to a report released today by the Australian Computer Society (ACS).
The report indicates that growth of the industry is being hampered by key skills shortages, falling telecommunications employment and a downtrend in investment in research and development (R&D).
Conducted for the ACS by industry think-tank, the Centre for Innovative Industries Economic Research, the ACS ICT Industry Report provides an overview of the problems facing the Australian ICT industry as of December 2007.
One of the key concerns identified by the report is the negative impact that skills shortages in key industry sectors are having on ICT industry performance. While the ICT industry, which is largely driven by SMEs, has seen a significant growth in total revenue to $84.3 billion, a decrease in skilled workers in key industry sectors remains a real threat to Australia’s economic prosperity.
The report highlights several worrying trends. While the volatility of employment is declining, job vacancies are at record highs and employment growth is gradually slowing. With the national economy dependent on the labour, products and services of ICT, indications of looming trouble need to be taken seriously.
Kumar Parakala, president of the ACS, used the report to call for greater awareness of the importance of the ICT industry and to warn of possible flow-on effects for Australia’s economy if certain trends were not reversed. “ICT underpins so many areas of our national growth and productivity. Australia’s ICT priorities must be top of mind if Australia is to maintain its globally competitive position,” he said.
According to Mr Parakala, a gradual slowing of ICT employment in several Australian states, coupled with a long-term sustained decline in R&D investment, are warning signs that need attention. He believes more cooperation between industry and government is needed to nurture Australia’s ICT industry.
“It’s important for industry and Government to collaborate on creating a sustainable ICT ecosystem that will help manage and grow the ICT workforce,” he said.
The report states that a lack of investment in R&D and information knowledge creation is also holding Australia’s ICT industry back. Mr Parakala believes fostering an atmosphere of technical innovation is crucial to attracting private investment.
“In order to make Australian IT companies competitive, we need a greater focus on innovation & ICT R&D – this is what’s required to build economic prosperity,” he said.
The report proposes several solutions, including actively encouraging more people to enter or re-enter the ICT workforce, particularly mature aged workers, and the integration of ICT subjects into tertiary study. The creation of flexible industry paradigms that can react to shifts in employment and implementation of skills forecasting programs that plan ahead for future trends are also suggested.
http://www.crn.com.au/News/70796,skills-shortages-threatens-australias-ict-growth.aspx
Staffing problems and a lack of skills in the existing workforce caused the biggest IT headaches last year, according to a worldwide survey of chief executives and chief information officers.
More than a third of those polled claimed that staff with inadequate skills are the biggest problem they face, while 58 percent said that a lack of staff in general has been their biggest headache in the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, 48 percent said that IT service delivery problems remained their second most common issue.
"Despite recent economic news and employee layoffs, we are seeing an increased demand for qualified IT professionals throughout the industry," said Lynn Lawton, international president of the IT Governance Institute.
"Without a well trained fully staffed IT department, many organisations around the world are needlessly sacrificing money, productivity and competitive advantage.
" Lawton maintained that executives need to direct their IT for optimal advantage, reduce the related risks and measure the value provided by their technology.
The survey of 749 CEOs and CIOs in 23 countries was carried out by the non-profit IT Governance Institute.
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/70320,lack-of-skilled-staff-hampers-it.aspx
ICT course enrolments are down 30 percent, the nation’s networking sector is short 6000 workers, and things may worsen before getting any better.
The current shortage of skilled IT workers in Australia is at an all-time low, and is a crisis the industry and the government must tackle collectively, and quickly, according to industry experts.
"The IT skills shortage is real and here to stay," said Phillip Tusing, marketing manager for international IT recruitment group Greythorn, and author of the Greythorn Salary Index.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;819437905;fp;4194304;fpid;1
New Mercer report ranks US, UK, Canada, Hong Kong salaries above Australia.
Australian IT managers are among the top ten highest paid in industry world-wide, according to a new survey.
The report, dubbed Mercer: 2007 IT Pay around the World during 2006, collated responses from 6545 IT companies in 35 countries and found Australian IT managers had just made the list by earning the tenth fattest IT salaries.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1280259650
Scholarship placements waiting to be filled
Arts and business students may be the new IT professionals, according to offshore outsourcer Satyam and The Australian Computer Society Foundation (ACS), which have been forced to fish for university graduates outside IT to fill an ambitious scholarship program.
