The Tasmanian Liberal Government is the strongest supporter of our ICT industry, which employs more than 9,000 people and is projected to grow to more than 12,000 by 2026.
The State’s ICT sector continues to grow and already makes a significant contribution to our economy, with almost $1.7 billion in revenue generated over 2020-21.
New research has found if this growth continues, the sector’s revenue is set to increase to $2.1 billion by 2024-25.
The Deloitte Access Economics Tasmanian ICT Sector Scan, commissioned by the Tasmanian Government, examines the sector’s revenue expectations over the next three financial years (2022-23 to 2024-25), with confidence remaining high.
The Scan provides an important insight into local capability and the sector’s role in driving digital transformation, productivity improvements and innovation across other sectors.
The results from the research revealed the technology workforce has grown by three per cent between 2020 and 2021.
More than 60 per cent of the ICT workforce are employed in a range of industries throughout the economy including agriculture, finance and professional services.
Thirty-four per cent of the businesses surveyed for the Sector Scan are already exporting their products or services internationally, primarily to North America, Asia and Oceania and the rest have interstate customers.
We know Tasmanian ICT companies have expertise in a wide range of capabilities including systems development, programming and software development, data and analytics, systems integration, and cyber security.
The Scan reinforced that cyber security was identified as the most common skills gap by Tasmanian technology companies.
More than half of the survey respondents indicated the biggest barrier to company growth is the inability to attract suitable staff.
Importantly, there are opportunities for further growth, including upskilling current staff, improving the skills pipeline and presenting our expertise to international markets via the Tasmanian Trade Advocates.
While there is still work to be done, we are on the right track in growing our ICT sector to benefit our State locally as well as to sell offshore to boost our economy and create new jobs.
John O’Mahony, Partner at Deloitte Access Economics and report author said: “The Tasmanian technology sector has developed strong capabilities in recent years, as its technology workforce grew by 22 per cent over the two years to 2021 - amongst the highest in Australia.
“The prospects for growth are strong, with 81 per cent of surveyed Tasmanian technology businesses expecting to grow over the three financial years to 2024-25.”
The Tasmanian ICT Sector Scan report can be found at www.stategrowth.tas.gov.au
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