Australia needs 312,000 additional tech workers by 2030 to meet demand, or more than 60,000 additional people entering the tech workforce annually. This is a problem because only 10% of school-aged students are interested in technology careers, and only 52% of parents outside of technology consider tech a viable career for their children.

Tackling Australia’s tech skills shortage requires action from both the government and private sector.

A significant opportunity for talent growth in tech

The ACS report also found a significant incentive to build a robust tech sector and ensure the skills are available. Technology is already a substantial part of Australia’s economy, but the growth potential is significant.

In FY23 alone, technology contributed $124 billion in economic activity. Tech exports have also grown 400% in the past decade. Meanwhile, a 40% increase in ICT spending and R&D shows that Australia has the appetite to be more sophisticated with how it uses technology despite constraints caused by the skills shortage.

Overall, the country is in a good position to plug the skills gaps by developing the proper pipelines that convert technology literacy into careers. Annual ICT literacy skills tests provided to students showed that Australia has a stable literacy level — at above 50% of students.