Who will save STEM expertise in Australia?
At a macro level when a nation's economy is performing well, then good paying jobs are plentiful. As the saying goes, a 'rising tide lifts all boats'. Conversely when the economy is not performing well, then people will often accept any job just to pay the bills. That is where we get the phrase, 'beggars can't be choosers'. Over the last 35 years, Australia's economy has had more good years than bad. As such, our society has espoused a social contract that proclaims, 'choose the right career and the world will be your oyster.'
While the above principles are true at a macro level, the truth on the ground is far more granular. It is possible for the national economy to be doing well while industries or sub-industries can be simultaneously struggling at their own level. The state of the economy is not static. Demand for a certain technical skill may be high now, but very different in 5-10 years' time. Programming languages can become commodified or replaced completely by newer technologies. Consequently, it is hard to make detailed concrete employment forecasts a long way out.
The reasons for disparate economic cycles vary, but from a career planning perspective, the ups and downs of employment openings add frustration and complexity to the next generation when are planning their careers and study pathways.
The 2013 ICT Career Week slogan was 'Start Here, Go Anywhere'. For the uber-talented entrepreneurs, this slogan is a truism. They are wired to grab opportunities wherever and whenever they sense the trends moving. They live by the strategy of the great ice hockey player Wayne Gretsky who famously said.
"I don't skate to where the puck is, I skate to where the puck is going to be"
However, for the vast majority of students and the next generation of Australia's workers, they want more concrete assurances. The real questions they have are:
'How much will this job pay?' (can I make a living from this job?)
'Where can I get work experience?'
'What do I need to study to get there'?
Many students consider such questions at around 16 years of age when they are in year 10 at high school. Employment policies of most tech companies require a bachelor's degree for their entry level roles, so the time horizon between year 10 and entering full-time work means students are making career decisions and financial commitments to a degree based on a cyclical forecast that could be right or could be wrong in 5 years' time. For them, effectively career planning can be a bit like playing Russian Roulette. Chances are their career choice will fine when they take the long view, but the stakes are high.
Australia's technology sector
Compared to other technology manufacturing nations who make and export widgets at scale, Australia's technology sector is heavily serviced based. We are software development heroes, and we are good at it. However, because our technology sector is knowledge based, a critical ingredient for success is whether we are able to match the supply and demand of technology skills. Talented workers are our inventory. When we need a supply of more inventory, we have two potential sources for it:
1. home grown, and
2. skilled immigration.
Depending on when you take a snapshot of Australia's STEM skills landscape and from which angle you stand, you can simultaneously make the case that Australia suffers from a 'lack of STEM skills' and also make the case that there is an oversupply of tech workers. Unhelpfully, a few loud and conflicting voices have sent mixed messages to parents, educators and students. The truth is that Australia's technology industry is a good choice for a long-term career and like all industries, it will experience ups and downs.
In terms of IT recruitment strategies, there is indeed a place for Australia to attract the best and brightest minds from overseas. We are a nation that has benefited greatly from immigrants and their contributions. However, the vast majority of our skills must continue to come from investing in home-grown skills development. This strategy is good for the health of our nation. While skilled immigration is quicker and a short-term fix, a commitment to providing IT career pathways for the next generation of Australians is essential. Let's look closer at these two skills sources and consider the implications of pursing both of these strategies.
Skilled Immigration
Traditionally, skilled immigration employment was a temporary source of supplemental talent. It was reserved for when companies had critical job role to fill and only became an option once they could demonstrate that they could not find any local talent with those skills. However, because the demands of the technology sector are fluid and fast moving, many of Australia's technology heavy hitters changed their employment strategies to increasingly favored attracting and recruiting talent from overseas. Industry bodies lobbied the government to get tech skills on the priority immigration list while universities expanded their placements to recruit international students at scale.
While skilled immigration did indeed increase the supply of technology skills in Australia's marketplace, Overtime we relied too much on immigration and it created distortions. Employees were increasingly viewed as 'resources' and expenses to be acquired quickly and then outsourced to the lowest cost centre. Half-baked immigration policies saw international students graduate without a viable pathway permanent residency. Thousands of international students graduated with STEM degrees but were then unable to accept entry level employment as the majority of graduate programs require permanent residency. Chalk this up to another case of planning failing at the implementation phase.
A reliance of immigration as a workforce strategy creates a microwave culture of instant demand. disposal and a trail of destruction. The concept may have sounded good in the short-term, but in the end, it was the equivalent of social junk-food. Australia is now experiencing the negative consequences of this diet in terms of astronomically high house prices, over-crowded streets and jaded youth who don't see a viable pathway for them to have a career and life. We need to swing the pendulum back to a healthy and sustainable strategy of developing home-grown technology skills.
Home Grown Tech Skills
Compared to skilled immigration, home grown technology skills are a longer-term play. Creating a local pipeline of work-ready technology skills requires a shared understanding of the long-term future demand of Australia's STEM industry that go beyond the cyclical waves of industry balance sheets. When corporations develop their budgets annually and measure their results quarterly, it is hard for them to set aside staffing and funds to adequately invest in the future of Australia's STEM curricula and career pathway programs. The health of Australia's STEM industry requires a planned and substantial investment in educational institutions across the primary, high-school, and tertiary levels. That investment must be industry led and supported. It must be more than a report or platitudes. It must result in concrete career advancement for Australians.
This challenge is why the Australian Computer Society established the Foundation in 2001 to work with technology companies to invest in the long-term development of Australia's IT education programs. But the challenge is immense, and Australia requires much more focus on this problem at all levels.
In addition to developing new STEM skills, another source of home-grown technology skills is 'employee development' programs. The average worker will spend 40 years of their life in the workforce. During that time, the skills they need to perform their job will evolve and change. Smart companies will re-train and re-tool them employees with the new STEM skills they need for their changing jobs. The challenge is that economic rationalism has seen corporations cut back on their staff development budgets. When older tech workers unnecessarily end up in unemployment lines, it is no wonder that they counter the narrative that Australia has a STEM work shortage. If we are going to fix the STEM skills crisis which is really of our own making, then we need to return to investing in home-grown skills development at all levels.
STEM Career Advice Dilemma
For a moment, spare a thought for schoolteachers and careers advisors who are attempting to guide students towards a fulfilling and sustainable career. It is essential that we get the STEM skills messaging and policies correct. If we do, Australia genuinely has a bright future for STEM jobs. However, we also need to move beyond marketing slogans and be realistic about opportunities and pathways. The STEM Career Wheel provides students with detailed information about STEM jobs in Australia. But we need more investment and opportunities to succinctly spread a consistent message at the school, TAFE, university and industry levels.
The ACS Foundation was set up in 2001to help Australia's home-grown technology industry. The Foundation runs school-based STEM programs like the Big Day In and creates IT work experience opportunities.
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