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Today's Topics:
1. ACS: One million workers could be reskilled for tech
(Stephen Loosley)
2. Re: Google orders small modular nuclear reactors for data
centres (Tom Worthington)
3. Re: Google orders small modular nuclear reactors for data
centres (Scott Howard)
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Message: 1
Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2024 17:31:41 +1030
From: Stephen Loosley <[email protected]>
To: "link" <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] ACS: One million workers could be reskilled for tech
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
One million workers could be reskilled for tech
Digital Pulse finds 'near tech' Aussies could bolster cyber security, AI.
By Tom Williams on Oct 22 2024
https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2024/one-million-workers-could-be-reskilled-for-tech.html
Australia is struggling to find technology workers with the right cyber
security and artificial intelligence skills but could tap 1.1 million near-tech
workers with similar capabilities to reskill and support the workforce, ACS
10th annual Australian Digital Pulse report has found.
ACS is the publisher of Information Age and the professional association of
Australia?s technology professionals.
Demand for cyber security skills has increased by 80 per cent in Australia
since 2020 amid a similar increase in cyber crime, according to the tenth
edition of Australian Digital Pulse, written by Deloitte Access Economics and
launched today by Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, in Sydney.
'Like many other sectors right now, IT and tech is needing an uplift in the
workforce to support the demands required of it,' said Marles.
While the Australian technology workforce now encompassed more than 1 million
workers, the report argued an extra 300,000 people would be needed by 2030 due
to 'current business demand', equating to around 52,000 new workers per year.
If current trends continue, Australia will need 26,000 workers reskilling into
technology occupations each year for the rest of the decade, Digital Pulse also
found.
Reskilling
Workers in 'near tech' jobs which could reskill for roles in tech included
mathematicians, advertising and marketing professionals, and account clerks,
among others.
The industry traditional sources of new talent were also under threat, the
report argued, given the government reduced permanent migration intake and
forthcoming cut to international student numbers.
'Australia has long faced a chronic tech skills shortage, but this report makes
clear that in the face of a rapidly evolving cyber security landscape and
strong adoption of AI into the workplace, we need to be ensuring the nation has
the skills needed by industry and the community,' said ACS CEO Josh Griggs.
'Technology is touching every part of society, particularly businesses, and for
Australia to be competitive globally, we need to ensure the nation has the
skillsets required to make the most from these emerging platforms.
'We should also keep in mind that technology jobs are well paid, and tech
companies are among the fastest growing businesses on the planet. If we have
the right skills, we can ensure more Australians are part of this dynamic
sector.'
[Photo caption: There are 1.1 million workers who have similar skills and tasks
to tech roles who could support tech workforce growth, Digital Pulse found.
Photo: Shutterstock]
Despite a surge in domestic students choosing IT studies during the pandemic,
enrolments have now dropped, with a 10 per cent decline in 2022, Griggs added.
And while 70 per cent of all parents would encourage their children to pursue a
career in technology, only half of parents outside of technology roles or
professional services would recommend tech as a career.
The Australian technology sector contributed over $124 billion to the local
economy in the 2023-24 financial year, the report found.
The nation also registered $8 billion in technology exports in the same period,
marking 400 per cent growth over the past decade.
Digital skills gap prevents workers joining tech
Reskilling thousands of Australians for roles in the technology workforce still
faced significant challenges, Digital Pulse found.
Warning of potential declines in reskilling in coming years amid a reported
slowdown in professional workers changing careers, the report said 38 per cent
of workers considering a move to the tech sector found a lack of time and
financial support prevented them from improving their digital skills.
The same percentage of workers considering changing industries were also unsure
about how to make that transition.
More consideration and value should be placed in short courses, certificates,
and so-called microcredentials as pathways into the tech industry according to
the report, which suggested employers 'need to be more accepting of the
alternative pathways workers might take to acquire digital skills'.
ACS President Helen McHugh said this tenth edition of Digital Pulse is a
testament to how far we have come as a tech community, 'but it also serves as a
wake-up call for the challenges we must address head-on'.
'This report is more than a reflection of past achievements ? it is a roadmap
for the future.
'For Australia to remain competitive in the global digital economy, we need to
ensure our workforce is equipped to handle the rapid advancements in AI and
cybersecurity.
'ACS remains committed to advocating for policies and initiatives that support
a strong, diverse, and future-ready tech workforce.'
The report recommended 12 key actions to support the growth of the Australian
tech workforce, including business and government paying workers while they
learned tech skills, increasing the number of paid work placements for IT
students, and better certification schemes to recognise our migrant existing
capabilities.
It also recommended a campaign to inform parents and students about careers in
tech, more intiatives to train workers and students on how to take advantage of
AI, and a federal government grant program to support tech startups led by
women.
Last year, Digital Pulse called for the country to take greater action on AI,
which it forecast would disrupt the overwhelming majority of local jobs in the
coming years.
The 2024 report can be downloaded from the ACS website.
--
Tom Williams is a senior journalist at Information Age, with key interests in
consumer technology, artificial intelligence, communications, business, gaming
and cyber security. He was previously a digital journalist at ABC News, where
he covered technology and breaking news. You can follow Tom on Threads, X or
LinkedIn, contact him at [email protected], or send tip-offs via secure
email to [email protected].
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2024 08:23:21 +1100
From: Tom Worthington <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [LINK] Google orders small modular nuclear reactors for
data centres
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"
On 21/10/24 17:46, Stephen Loosley wrote:
> Google orders small modular nuclear reactors for its data centres ...
> By Malcolm Moore in London OCTOBER 15 2024
> https://www.ft.com/content/29eaf03f-4970-40da-ae7c-c8b3283069da
Nuclear reactors are like Google Glass. They might work technically, but
not something anyone wants to be near.
--
Tom Worthington http://www.tomw.net.au
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Message: 3
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2024 08:03:09 +0800
From: Scott Howard <[email protected]>
To: Tom Worthington <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [LINK] Google orders small modular nuclear reactors for
data centres
Message-ID:
<cacnpsnurfkftq4iaf406lopv3a5_3heyxnrsndf1h10cpo3...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
On Wed, Oct 23, 2024 at 5:39?AM Tom Worthington <[email protected]>
wrote:
>
> Nuclear reactors are like Google Glass. They might work technically, but
> not something anyone wants to be near.
More than a third of people in the US live within 50 miles of a nuclear
power plant.
The attitude Australians have towards them is very different to that in the
US, where people generally have no major concerns of living near them.
Scott
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End of Link Digest, Vol 383, Issue 27
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