2008 National ICT Careers Week

Seeking participants in the 2008 National ICT Careers Week

28 July – 2 August 2008

Start Here Go Anywhere

What is the National ICT Careers Week

• During one week in July 2008 and across Australia, we want to show the opportunities available to young people in information and communications technology.

• We want to encourage young people to consider studying ICT after their schooling and to consider a career in ICT.

• We want them to see studying computing and communications is the start to a rewarding, interesting and social career anywhere in the world.

About the Career Week

• This week is aimed at young people, their parents and teachers, parliamentarians, and journalists. This campaign is designed to be largely decentralised as to the types and style of marketing initiatives and activities conducted by the participating organisations.

Australia > we have a people problem

• Will the Australian ICT industry (and its customers) be able to recruit sufficient employees with the appropriate ICT qualifications and training in the short and long term?

Declining numbers

Student demand for IT courses has decreased markedly over recent years. Eligible applicants for IT courses decreased by 66% over the 2001-2007 period.These trends will have an impact on the number of graduates available to work in ICT from this supply channel over the next 5 years. There are also some concerns that increasing offer rates may result in increasedattrition rates, if less able students are offered places.Source: DEST

Employers will have a problem

• Increasing competition for skilled people within the industry

• Competition for talent from non-ICT industries

• Increasing competition from businesses in other countries

• Increasing pressure on employers to pay higher remuneration to ICT employees

• Need for company retention programs• Higher training and reskilling costs• Constraints on business and economic

activity

What’s the response?What’s the action?

• Run a new high-profile ICT Careers week (last week of July 2008).

• Seek to create a new national ICT careers portal.• Turnaround the decline in ICT course enrolments• Re-energise & restructure ICT course agendas

through industry involvement.• Better insights into what impacts ICT career

choices.• Build deeper government support for our

programs.• Develop cross industry plan to re-training and re-

skilling.• Better modelling of ICT supply/demand patterns.

Key messages for ICT Careers Week

• ICT is a truly global career – your work in ICT can take you round the world;

• No matter what area you want to work in, studying ICT will help you achieve it.

• ICT – be part of the solution for climate change.

• ICT is entertainment – movies, music, games, animation and fashion.

• ICT = great job + great money + great lifestyle

• ICT is about working with people, helping people and solving people’s problems.

• A degree in ICT is an international passport to overseas jobs, travel and new career horizons.

ICT – ‘Hot’ Facts & Stats for use by Participants

• In Australia, the application of technology helps drive significant upswings in economic productivity.

• Technology impacts every part of our economy – from health, education, environment and security to research & development, oil & gas exploration, manufacturing, tourism and transport.

• ICT accounts for around 6% of Australia’s total GDP.

• Australia’s ICT revenue is currently around $85 billion pa.

• 514,000 people work in ICT related and professional roles. It is not only a key enabler of the economy but is a major part of the economy in its own right.

ICT – ‘Hot’ Facts & Stats for use by Participants

• $50 million worth of ICT jobs are expected to be created over the next 12 to 18 months.

• The Australian ICT industry comprises 25,562 companies.

What can be done

Concepts and ideas suggested by others include:

• having State Premier release a supportive media release

• rebranding an existing career activity happening in that week

• school ICT student visits • demonstrations of ICT in use• visits to ICT companies and ICT faculties and schools• briefing of journalists• ICT study information on company web sites • briefing to ICT school teachers• promoting ICT study on the front page on university

and TAFE web sites

Media engagement

• Journalists with interests in ICT careers and studies will be identified and contacted about the National ICT Careers Week.

• Participating organisations will be encouraged to use their existing media relationships.

• Journalists will be encouraged to contact the participating organisations to allow for individual media relationships for the National ICT Careers Week.

• Media briefings will be held in May 2008 to brief the journalists about the campaign, the participating organisations, and the collection portal. In addition, information and data on ICT employment etc will be provided so they have a common set of data points.

A single brand

• The Career Week will use the Start Here Go Anywhere brand.

• The immediate advantages of having single and national brand to market ICT study and careers to young people are that:

• the clutter of images associated with ICT marketing is reduced, and

• various groups can use the brand within a relaxed and distributed regime of deployment while achieving an overall integrated marketing appearance.

Coordination and support

• To support and manage this project, a steering committee will need to be formed from government, education providers, ICT industry and professional associations, and other groups.

• AIIA and ACS will take a leadership role to recruit participants, promulgate the participants’ activities; to maximise media attention; to manage generic information resources; and to initiative future activities opened by the success of the marketing campaign.

Participants wanted

• Industry and business associations• ICT industry• ICT professional associations• Women in ICT Groups• Science, ICT school teachers groups• Tertiary educators• VET educators• Federal Government • State Government agencies• Careers advisers• Other groups and organisations

How to participate

1. Develop your ideas2. Contact AIIA or ACS for advice3. Register to participate4. Agree to brand conditions of use5. Develop your activity6. Participate in meetings of participating

organisations7. Help marketing to journalists, teachers,

parents, government, careers advisers8. Present your activity during the Week9. Help review and improve for next year

How does ICT connect with state and national priorities?

Our nation and state face many challenges in:• Climate change & energy• Global economic downturn• Investment in technologies• Employment constraints• Education • Transport • Health• Security • An ageing population

The application of ICT is vital for enabling the solutions to these pressing, key issues.

Start here: Go anywhere

National brand being used to encourage year 12 students to sign up for post-school ICT courses

Being used by Federal & State governments, industry and professional associations, education providers, ICT companies, women in IT groups, and others

Contact

Michel Hedley• Australian Information Industry Association• Phone 0417 695 616• Email m.hedley@aiia.com.au

Len Joynson• Australian Computer Society• Phone 02 8296 4418• Email len.joynson@acs.org.au

Thank you