AIIA urges government to prioritise visas for ICT workers

The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has urged the federal government to prioritise visas for ICT professionals as the nation reopens its borders to fully vaccinated visa holders.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that fully vaccinated visa holders including skilled workers will be allowed to enter Australia without applying for an exemption from 1 December.

AIIA CEO Ron Gauci called on the government to prioritise visas for technology workers while the sector works on growing local capabilities by increasing the talent pipeline.

“While we strive to grow the skills base locally, we do need access to certain highly skilled and in-demand people from overseas where the local market cannot supply them; from cybersecurity to applications development, data and analytics have been identified by the AIIA as big areas of demand,” he said.

“Australia’s economic recovery can be led by innovation and investment in technology. Governments must continue to work to address Australia’s digital skills to support our digital transformation, provide a skilled workforce to support economic growth, and protect our digital sovereignty.”

An AIIA survey of the Australian ICT industry found that 73% of businesses expect to be actively growing and hiring this year, with 65% looking to hire staff with cybersecurity skills and 60% seeking cloud skills.

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