Enhancing your digital technology skills in Australia. Can we predict the hard-tech skills we’ll need in the future?

At Greenlit Group we’re obsessed with the ‘future of work’. Why? We’re finding the only constant with the Australian labour market is Change. Globalisation, digitalisation, automation, world-wide connectivity, and structural economic changes have all played their fair share. Then throw in a global pandemic and you’re left with continuous change. For some of us change is exciting and for others it’s concerning. For us, we’re often ecstatic as we know it can create endless opportunities for professional/personal growth and development for our talent. 

Evidently when we think about the future of work, we can’t avoid the evolution of technology. Unfortunately, Technology isn’t always seen in a positive light. According to the report, ‘Technology Impacts on the Australian Workforce, March 2020’ (Australian Computer Society & Faethm) technology advancement in automation is predicted to displace 2.7 million Australian Workers by 2034. However, they also predict technology will augment 4.5 million Australian workers within the same period across all industries. Within the technology industry they’ve forecasted an introduction of 92,000 new technology jobs over the next 15 years. This will include occupations such as; Software Developers (Apps & Systems), Process Improvement Analysis, Process Improvement Managers, infrastructure Services Analysts, Data Integrators, Data Engineers, Data Scientists, Data Analysts, Robotic Engineers, Strategy Analysts, Software QA Engineers/Testers, Security Testers, Tester/Test Analysts, Operations Research Analysts.

The APAC Digital Skills Index 2020 Report (AlphaBeta, commissioned by Amazon Web Services) has forecasted the average worker (including non-digital professions) will gain several new digital skills to maintain the growth of technological change predicted until 2025. For those who are digital/technology specialists, this report has identified the following as the ‘in-demand’ digital skills with the fastest projected growth by 2025 across the APAC region:

·         1st -- Digital & refine new cloud and hybrid architectures

·         2nd – Create operations support protocols for new software/hardware

·         3rd – Create original digital content and the tools to develop them

·         4th – Create large scale data models and database technology

·         5th – Develop digital security and cyber forensics tools, software & techniques

·         6th – Lead the end-to-end management of large complex digital projects

·         7th – Develop new digital communication and collaboration tools

·         8th – Use advanced problem-solving computation techniques

·         9th – Integrate digital tools to develop customised digital content and products

·         10th – Knowledge of data mining, engineering, and science techniques

When contemplating which skills, you want to add to your toolkit, the above predicted skills for future demand should be considered. However, keep in mind labour and workforce forecasting is not always as accurate as we would like. Ultimately the priority should be You. The skills you’re learning ideally should be driven by your inherent curiosity or passion to master those skills. It’s also recommended you research your local industry forecasted uptake of this skill. For example, if you’re a Software Engineer/Developer you’ll probably find SQL is a standard perquisite for most employers across the nation. If you’re based in WA and keen to learn cloud computing, you might find AWS and Azure is more popular than GCP (Google Cloud Platform). This might change in the near future. It’s best to research and network, to explore which skills are (or likely to be) in demand with your prospective employers before investing in learning a new skill.

If you’re a technical digital/technology specialist, an aspiring student, or a non-digital professional who’s keen to improve their digital literacy feel free to respond with your thoughts and opinions.

As a professional talent agency, we’re thrilled when our talent achieves (or exceeds) their career aspirations. Why? We’re there by your side for the entire journey. It’s simple. When you achieve so do we. Discover our unique career coaching and talent representation services (some FOC). For further insight please contact me on benarmstrong@greenlitgroup.com.