The Queensland government signaled its intentions to put an end
to a deepening skills shortage with its hosting last week of the
National ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Skills
Summit in Brisbane.
The summit was used to announce a number of new state and
federal initiatives, largely centered on encouraging more people to
pursue a career in IT.
The federal Department of Communications, Information Technology
and the Arts (DCITA) announced it will fund the creation of an
open-access national ICT skills tracking and monitoring system
based on the Victorian model to help bolster ICT skills.
The system will be based on the one developed by the Information
Technology Contract and Recruitment Association (ITCRA) and
Multimedia Victoria, a Web-based data collection of IT placements.
It will present any information collected on the Skills Australia
Web site.
"I am pleased to announce that ITCRA has been successful in its
application for funding under the Information Technology Online
(ITOL) Program," IT Minister Senator Coonan said. "The National ICT
Skills Monitoring Establishment Project will improve ITCRA's
current data collection and dissemination processes."
The announcement followed Coonan's release of the ICT skills
working group's report - Building Australian ICT Skills - which
outlines a number of recommendations in addition to the national
monitoring system.The report recommends the formation of an
industry leadership group to develop and facilitate improved ICT
information and participation in ICT occupations and careers.
Coonan said there is an "urgent" need to address the negative
perception of ICT careers in the community, which is turning many
young people away from considering a career in the "dynamic"
sector, and believes the report will make a significant
contribution to understanding the changing needs of the ICT
industry and the economy as a whole.
The report also cited "flow-on effects" within the ICT industry
of intergenerational social and demographic factors, such as the
aging workforce, changing workplace attitudes, and negative
perceptions of ICT careers due to a poor understanding in schools
of the diversity of ICT opportunities as areas of concern.
A lack of multi-jurisdictional cooperation in addressing ICT
skills is also seen as a hindrance.
Other recommendations include better aggregation of ICT jobs and
data on the skills market, additional research into staff retention
and "upskilling," a national ICT awareness campaign to market the
attractiveness of IT as a career, and action to review and enhance
the teaching of ICT in schools.
During his keynote address at the summit, Queensland's IT policy
minister Chris Cummins announced a A$250,000 (US$183,641) program
to encourage an injection of talent into the state's ICT
industry.
The funding will go towards ICT career promotional programs
through the new ICT Career Start program.
The ICT Career Start program is part of the Queensland
government's billion-dollar skills plan to reform the state's
vocational education and training sector, which includes 23 new
skills formation strategies recently announced by Minister for
Employment, Training, Sport, and Industrial Relations Tom
Barton.
Cummins also announced the state's Department of Employment and
Training will provide an additional A$240,000 to fund a Queensland
ICT skills formation strategy.
"Research conducted in the lead up to the summit found that
students and parents had little understanding of exactly what ICT
careers had to offer," Cummins said, adding there is a perception
that ICT jobs we're boring or had poor working environments. "The
new ICT Career Start Program will help turn these perceptions
around. It's about providing funding for organizations, such as our
local industry associations, to undertake ICT career promotion
activities."
The program will offer between A$10,000 and A$25,000 funding
through a competitive process to Queensland-based organizations for
conducting activities designed to stimulate interest in ICT careers
and engage skilled workers.
Cummins said increased expenditure on ICT projects is resulting
in a demand for specific skills, yet there has been a dramatic
decline in ICT related course enrolments at universities - 38
percent over the past two years in Queensland alone.
While these initiatives are for Queensland businesses only,
Cummins acknowledged the skills shortage as a national issue and
said the summit should help develop national solutions.
Key outcomes of the ICT Skills Summit
Queensland government to spend A$500,000 over two years to
improve the image of IT as a career option.
The ICT Career Start Program will offer between A$10,000 and
A$25,000 funding to Queensland-based organizations for activities
that stimulate interest in ICT careers.
DCITA releases a report "Building Australian ICT Skills"
outlining a number of recommendations to foster skills development.
The report is online at available at www.dcita.gov.au/building_ICT_skills
DCITA will also fund the creation of an open-access national ICT
skills tracking and monitoring system based on the Victorian model
to help bolster skills.
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