Digital skills key to addressing national skills shortage
Media Release - 28 August 2023
This National Skills Week the Future Skills Organisation is working to address the shortfall of 130,000 digital expert workers needed by 2026.
This National Skills Week, the Future Skills Organisation (FSO) are emphasising the critical importance of digital skills in addressing national skill shortages. This comes off the back of findings from their recent report titled Growing Australia's Digital Workforce which found there is a projected 47 percent growth in the digital expert workforce in 2026.
Key findings from the report include the need for digial skills across every industry and every job, with a projected 47 per cent growth in the digital expert workforce over the next five years.
The CEO of Future Skills Organisation Patrick Kidd says this National Skills Week is a critical time for us to set our sights on what the future of training and skills development look like in Australia.
“Skills, training and workforce shortages have dominated headlines and troubled employers, especially in recent months. Our findings and learnings from our time as the Digital Skills Organisation will now inform our work as the Jobs and Skills Council for Australia’s Finance, Technology and Business sectors.” Mr Kidd said.
“Our recent report also found that 1 in 2 VET-graduates have reported the skills they learnt are not relevant to their current job and we want to drive the change of these numbers and the outcomes of our training system.”
“It’s timely that we’re sharing these findings of our report during National Skills Week. We’re looking to expand our collaborators so that we can create a diverse, dynamic and exciting training system that reflects the industries graduates go on to work in.”
As the Jobs and Skills Council for Australia’s Finance, Technology and Business Sectors, the Future Skills Organisation has been tasked with the remit of working with employers, unions, training providers and learners, to unlock Australia’s skill and talent potential.
“Our next step is to attract collaborators from across Finance, Technology and Business so that we can receive their input and draw from their experiences and expertise.
“We’re taking what we’ve learnt as the Digital Skills Organisation and our successful pilot programs that have boosted the consideration of digital careers by 29 percent, to drive change in the skilling, reskiling and upskilling acrross Finance, Technology and Business sectors.”
National Skills Week is an opportunity to emphasise the integral role that skill development plays in ensuring a prosperous economic and social future for Australia, along with celebrating the opportunities and successes from the VET sector.
“While it may be easy to highlight the many challenges facing the VET sector and training providers, I am focused on the extraordinary opportunity ahead of us. Digital skills are essential across every job, in every industry and every Australian needs the opportunity to access the benefits this training and skillset provides.”
“Together we can ensure all Australians have the skills they need now and into the future as technology continues to evolve and demand transferable, innovative and cutting-edge skills.” Mr Kidd said.
Key points
12% increase in demand for digital skills across the economy since 2016
47% growth is projected for the digital expert workforce by 2026
370,000 digital worker shortfall is projected for Australia by 2026
ENDS
About the Future Skills Organisation
The Future Skills Organisation is a Jobs and Skills Council funded by the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.
FSO’s mission is to advance transferable and industry-specific skills in the finance, technology and business sectors. Through close collaboration with industry, unions, training providers and the government, we work collectively to benefit both employees and employers.
