NSW to create 40,000 ICT jobs in 5 years

More than 40,000 ICT jobs will be created in NSW over the next five years, according to a new ACS report.

The 2018 ACS Australia’s Digital Pulse report also predicts an annualised growth rate of 2.5% — which, along with Victoria, is the highest in the country.

“The demand for digital skills in our economy is exploding,” said ACS President Yohan Ramasundara.

“The growth of artificial intelligence, automation and the Internet of Things is driving significant disruption across all industries, and highly trained ICT professionals are in more demand than ever before.

“If we want to be competitive in the world economy, we need to invigorate the education and training sectors to increase Australia’s ICT talent pool.”

A NSW ACS spokesperson praised the strong growth in both ICT trades and ICT management and operations.

“NSW has always been a strong performer in terms of digital growth, but these latest figures show that we really are continuing as Australia’s home of digital growth.

“While our overall growth rate of 2.5% sits on a level with that of Victoria, the projected growth in ICT trades of almost 5% is nation leading. We have a cohort of workers in NSW who are seeing the benefits of technology as a career and as a result of that our state economy will transform. The support of the NSW Government, particularly in the start-up space, is critical if we are to continue this growth.”

The report also investigates Australia’s international competitiveness in ICT, finding that Australia is in the middle of the pack without any movement over the last five years.

ACS Australia’s Digital Pulse 2018 investigates the digital policy environment in Australia and looks at the potential levers to encourage businesses to invest in new technologies, innovation and skills development. It reveals how we can accelerate digitally led economic growth and improve Australia’s overall international ICT competitiveness.

The full report can be downloaded at https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-publications/aadp2018.pdf.

Image credit: ©keepsmiling4u/Dollar Photo Club

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