Digital Employment Forum

The Australian Government and the Australian tech sector have a shared commitment to achieve 1.2 million tech jobs in Australia

Our roadmap to create a thriving Australian tech workforce

This report sets out Australia’s tech jobs opportunity, the barriers we face to meet this opportunity, and what industry and government can do to reduce these barriers.

Meeting this goal is critical to improving Australia’s living standards and to creating economic opportunity for Australians. 

Tech jobs are among the most productive in Australia and accessible to people from all walks of life.

There’s little discrimination in pay based on education or socioeconomic status once people break into the sector and jobs are well-paid, stable and flexible.

As the economy becomes increasingly digital, missing out on this opportunity will leave Australia behind.

Location and number of tech jobs in Australia. Credit: TCA, Jobs Opportunity Report, 2021

While Australia is on track to create 186,000 jobs, filling them will be challenging. 

We forecast that Australia will need to employ an additional 653,000 tech workers to meet this goal by the end of the decade (representing an increase of 186,000 over business-as-usual approaches).

The primary challenge won’t be creating the jobs, but finding skilled workers to fill them. Getting to 1.2 million – our roadmap to create a thriving Australian tech workforce, developed through the Digital Employment Forum, prioritises the solutions that will address the most urgent barriers and set Australia up for success in the long term.

About the Digital Employment Forum

The Digital Employment Forum (DEF) brings together major tech employers and educators with our members to transform the way Australia attracts and trains workers. 

Anchor partners

nbn
Swinburne University of Technology

Campaign partners

Australian Spatial Analytics
Future Minds Network
Veski
Startmate
STEM returners
Tech Diversity
Minderoo GenOne Logo
Generation Australia
Skills LogiQ

Campaign partners

Australian Spatial Analytics
Future Minds Network
Generation Australia
Minderoo GenOne Logo
Skills LogiQ
Startmate
STEM returners
The Human Collective
Veski
Tech Diversity

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