The Federal Government has outlined a commitment to achieve 1.2 million tech jobs in Australia by 2030, and newly released data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates we are headed in the right direction.

Using 2021 Census data, the ABS this month revealed Australia has experienced a rise in work and study in emerging fields within science and technology, with the number of people holding an IT qualification now sitting at almost half a million (470,318) – up 36% since 2016.

The fastest-growing qualification was security science, at 5,805 people qualified (up 460% since 2016), while qualifications in artificial intelligence also increased, at 630 people (up 200%).

The tech sector has experienced strong growth in the past decade, rising to become the nation’s seventh-biggest employer – and with one in 16 working Aussies now in tech jobs, the country has more software engineers and developers than solicitors, plumbers or hairdressers.

Statistician David Gruen said this positive development in the industry “reflects the rising prominence of the digital economy in Australia”.

Of these information and communications technology (ICT) roles, the largest increase in qualified professionals since 2016 were support and test engineers (15,635, up 54%), software and applications programmers (116,927, up 47%) and business and systems analysts (34,793, up 47%).

“There are over 260,000 ICT professionals and 74,000 ICT managers in the workforce – an additional 86,000 since the last Census,” Dr Gruen said.

Migration is also a major contributor to the tech workforce – two-thirds of software and applications programmers were born overseas, with India representing the largest cohort.

‘Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity’

The peak industry body for Australia’s tech sector, the Tech Council of Australia (TCA), shares the government’s commitment to create 1.2 million tech jobs by 2030, saying it is key to improving living standards and creating economic opportunity for Australians.

“These jobs are critical to Australia’s future. They are amongst the fastest-growing, best-paid, most secure and most flexible jobs in Australia,” TCA chief executive Kate Pounder said, adding the roles have half the gender pay gap of other high-paying industries.

The jobs are expected to play an important role in every major industry in the Australian economy and will involve a broad range of employers, educators and sectors, including retail, banking, mining, government, professional services, software and telecommunications.

“We believe Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to be a global technology powerhouse, leading in critical fields like quantum and fintech as well as increasing our lead in B2B software as a service,” Ms Pounder said.

And for working Australians, this represents an “incredible jobs opportunity”, she added.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Sources:

• alp.org.au, Labor’s plan for 1.2 million tech jobs by 2030
• abs.gov.au, 2021 Census data shows Australia going high tech
• techcouncil.com.au, Getting to 1.2 million