Job security fears still linger in ICT profession
Job security fears still linger in ICT profession
Employment issues continue to dominate the concerns of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals.
That is according to the results of a new online survey of Australian Computer Society members.
When asked to list their top priorities for the ACS to address in 2004, 67 percent of all respondents placed employment at the top of their list, followed by education and training (51 percent) and professional networking (43 percent).
The poll also demonstrated very strong support for the ICT professional association’s renewed focus on policy development and lobbying Canberra, with over 97 percent registering their agreement.
“After two years of very tough times for this industry sector, ICT professionals are very conscious that jobs remain an uncertain resource,” said ACS national president, Edward Mandla.
“They believe that our political representatives, and the community in general, need a greater appreciation of how important ICT is to our future and have given me a strong mandate to increase our lobbying and marketing efforts in this direction,” he said.
While employment issues dominated member concerns, other issues highlighted in the poll included security/terrorism and technology, ICT work/life issues, spam and ethical use of technology
Employment-related issues also influenced members’ expectations of the ACS itself. When asked about which services would best support them as professionals, they gave preference to professional development, professional networking, best practice, training, career advice and recruitment services.
“Our last employment survey, released in February this year, highlighted a significant level of dissatisfaction with the way recruitment agencies operate in this sector. This latest poll confirms that our members would like us to consider how we can assist them in that area so we’ll be looking at our options in that regard,” said Mandla.
This latest survey, one in a series of online polls of ACS members, attracted 1,745 responses from around Australia and overseas. The ICT professional association plans to conduct bi-monthly surveys on a range of topical issues to assist its efforts in driving ICT policy.
“Working as an ICT professional requires you to visualise the future and see how technology can be applied to enhance peoples’ lives. I want to harness the vision and creativity of our members to comment on relevant issues and provide a sounding board for government polices affecting the use and development of ICT.”
Mandla said the survey also made it clear that members wanted the ACS to play a more active role in industry development.
“The area of industry development will be a key focus of my agenda for the second half of this year and we’ll be allocating substantial resources and attention towards creating policies that will help to effect change."
Mandla believes more needs to be done to support ICT start-ups and encourage the growth of local ventures, as well as attracting multinational investment.
“We need to provide a more attractive investment environment to encourage international companies to base their regional headquarters in Australia. One of the key steps is to reduce personal tax rates to minimise the disparity between Australia and our Asian neighbours."
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