Kuala Lumpur Time- From: The Australian
- November 29, 2011
Picture: AP Source: AP
AS we approach the end of another year it is encouraging to see signs of new investment aimed at stimulating growth and development in the ICT sector.
In the past three months, both the Victorian and NSW governments have announced plans to promote ICT-enabled innovation and the digital economy. In particular, the Victorian government's ICT plan, announced earlier this month, committed $85 million for ICT skills development, investment and infrastructure development in collaboration with industry."The coalition government recognises the key role ICT plays in contributing to a competitive, productive and growing Victorian economy, building on Victoria's reputation as a leading centre for ICT," said the Victorian Minister for Technology, Gordon Rich-Phillips. "Our vision for the future is to not only propel results for our ICT sector, but also help to drive and enable growth, productivity and competitiveness in other industries through the adoption of technology."
ACS Victorian branch chairman Ian Dennis welcomed the Victorian government's recognition of the need to raise the number of places for ICT students in order to ensure we have enough qualified workers to support the planned growth.
"Without increasing numbers from the current annual 2300 domestic ICT higher education enrolment commencements in Victoria, such sustained economic growth will be difficult to deliver," he said.
We need to encourage more people into the ICT sector, and retain them for longer. This means encouraging students to enter ICT careers, catering for mature workers and providing options for women to remain in the workforce for longer.
Increasingly, we will need to verify the skills, experience and overall professionalism of these practitioners in order to provide confidence to businesses which depend on quality outcomes created by these professionals. The Skills Framework for the Information Age is increasingly being embraced as the standard for certifying ICT skills and providing a clear articulation path for ICT professionals, which is key to ensuring a viable ICT industry.
Growing demand for Australia's ICT professionals made headlines again last week after recruitment firm Robert Half Technology revealed that demand for specialist ICT skills jumped by 35 per cent in the past two quarters because of increased investment in e-commerce.
Meanwhile, skills shortages are being predicted for regional areas. Various studies into the impact of the NBN rollout have identified an estimated shortfall of more than 7000 telecommunications or electrical technicians and more than 12,000 ICT professionals needed to do the work associated with the network's construction.
The NBN represents a critical platform for development that will dramatically stimulate the digital economy and drive strong demand for specialist ICT skills. As well as building a larger ICT workforce, we must also provide broader community education to ensure every Australian is prepared to participate in the digital economy.
Studies by UNESCO and the World Bank suggest that industrialised nations such as Australia can add between 1.2 and 1.38 per cent to the annual GDP for every 10 per cent increase in the population using broadband communications. For Australia, this would potential represent growth of between $11.1 billion and $12.76bn a year for every 10 per cent growth in broadband connections, based on a GDP of $925bn (July last year).
More of the nation's business leaders recognise the role the NBN will play in driving economic prosperity. At an ACS Foundation lunch in Sydney last week, IBM Australia's Managing Director, Andrew Stevens, highlighted the potential benefits of the NBN for all industry sectors.
"We are on the dawn of Australia's digital future," he said. "We will live through the time when the NBN moves from being a vertical backbone network to a horizontal one in terms of affecting all parts of how this country works and operates in terms of projecting this country forward and in terms of productivity and workforce participation; I can't imagine a better thing to do."
Australia's best formula for future economic growth is to develop the ICT skills that will enable us to take full advantage of the high-speed infrastructure the NBN will provide to create innovative products and services that we can sell to the world, not only in ICT but across every industry sector.
We commend and fully support any government that demonstrates the foresight to develop and implement its own ICT growth strategy.
Anthony Wong is president of the ACS and chief executive of AGW Consulting
Source: AustralianIT
