Media release
The Tech Council of Australia (TCA) today welcomed the commitment by the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Anthony Albanese MP, and Labor to support the Tech Council’s goal of achieving 1.2 million people employed in tech jobs by 2030.
Tech Council of Australia Chair, Robyn Denholm, joined Mr Albanese for the announcement.
“We applaud the commitment made by Mr Albanese and Labor today, to support the goal of having 1.2 million people in tech jobs by 2030,” Ms Denholm said.
“Tech jobs are a great deal for Australians. They are well-paid, secure and flexible. And there are plenty of them.”
“Jobs in tech are diverse, and include sales specialists, marketers, HR and legal specialists, software engineers, product managers and data scientists. This makes them a great choice for Australians, no matter what their passion, or where they live.”
“Setting this goal matters because it sends a clear signal to Australians that employers will sign-up to create these jobs, and there is a shared commitment to help Australians work in them, including through reskilling and training opportunities.”
“We want to be an industry that creates great jobs for Australians, and that partners with governments to make sure Australians can get into them”.
The commitment by Labor follows the release of new research by the Tech Council that shows tech jobs are an important new source of opportunity for Australians around the country, with 860,000 people – or 1 in 16 working Australians – in tech jobs today. Western Sydney alone now has 100,000 Australians working in tech jobs.
“Our research shows that tech jobs are some of the most flexible, employees in tech specific companies are 1.5x-2x more likely to work remotely than tech employees working in non-tech specific companies” Ms Pounder said.
Tech jobs are also more secure than other jobs. The rate of people no longer working after 8 years was 4.7 percentage points lower in tech than high paying industries, and 6.2 percentage points lower than other industries.
The research shows that the tech sector also provides good opportunities for those who are not university graduates – 42 per cent of workers in the tech industry do not have a university qualification. The pay gap between someone with a VET qualification and tertiary degree is just 2 per cent. In other high-paying industries, it is 18 per cent.
“There is also a tremendous opportunity for women in the technology industry. While we know we don’t have enough female representation, women looking to forge a career in the tech sector face a much smaller gender pay gap than other industries,” Ms Denholm said.
The research found that women entrants in the tech sector have a gender pay gap of around 9 per cent compared to women entering comparable industries who face a pay gap of around 18 per cent.
“What we have in our industry is a trifecta, secure, well-paid, flexible jobs available to all people regardless of background or education. We want Australians to aspire to a job in our industry and we want to help them find the pathway into their career.”
About the TCA
The Technology Council of Australia launched in 2021 with a clear vision to ensure the tech sector plays a critical role in Australia’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The TCA has said the biggest and most urgent risk to the goal of employing one million people in tech sector jobs by 2025 is acute labour shortages facing the tech sector. That means we must act now to ensure we can fill the new tech jobs we’re creating in Australia over the next four years. Three goals for the tech sector in Australia:
- Employ 1.2 million people in tech-related jobs by 2030
- Contribute $250 billion to GDP from tech-related activity by 2030
- Make Australia the best place to start and scale a company
Media enquiries
Sofia Polak, Harry Communications
media@techcouncil.com.au
0434 275 449
