35,000 new Aussie IT jobs will be needed this year

More than 35,000 new IT jobs will be needed in the Australian market this year as companies invest in the human capital required for digital transformation, according to a joint study by DXC Technology and analyst firm Telsyte.

A survey of business leaders jointly conducted by the companies found that nearly one in five Australian organisations plan to create new internal roles this year as part of their digital transformation, rising to a third in sectors including finance, administration and professional services.

The most particularly in demand skills include roles such as data architect and business intelligence analyst.

More than one in five organisations are meanwhile set to create dedicated artificial intelligence roles, which were named by respondents as the roles considered most likely to be created due to digital transformation.

The research found that nearly half of organisations surveyed expect more jobs to be created than taken away by digital transformation, with only 43% expecting more roles to be eliminated, automated or outsourced.

Meanwhile, Australian organisations are feeling pressure to respond in the face of digital disruption, with organisations on average believing they have just 2.2 years to digitally transform as a result.

The survey found that only 41% of respondents have a consistent organisation-wide digital strategy. But only 5% have no plans for adopting a digital strategy, and only 17% do not currently have one.

Barriers to an effective digital transformation strategy include a perceived lack of digital literacy among CEOs, a lack of employee engagement in the process and a slow pace of adoption in the face of digital disruption.

“Rolling out a digital strategy organisation-wide is now considered a superior approach by the majority of organisations as it best places companies to fend off competitors, innovate and deliver long-term outcomes,” DXC Australia and New Zealand Managing Director Seelan Nayagam said.

“[But] Less than one-third of organisations today are providing their employees with digital transformation training, indicating more needs to be done to take employees on the transformation journey. To achieve success, employee education must be the cornerstone of any digital transformation program and not regarded as an afterthought.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/4Max

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