Senator the Hon Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
PartICipaTion Summit 2005 Opening address
Sydney
Thursday 22 September 2005
Thank you Maxine [McKew, Journalist, Chair, Summit]
I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our keynote speakers, Frances Cairncross and Peter Sheahan, to our other speakers, and all participants.
My hope is that everyone here today will find this Summit a very valuable opportunity in helping to address the skills needs for Australia's exciting information and communications technology sector.
The Lack of Women
It didn’t take long in the Communications portfolio for me to realise that there is a distinct lack of women in the ICT sector.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal that women comprise only 20 per cent of ICT employees and only 25 per cent of ICT university students.
These figures become increasingly concerning when you compare them to other areas of the economy where women have been making significant inroads over time.
For instance, 53 per cent of the Australian Public Service workforce is female.
Traditional trades have a better female participation rate than ICT – 100,000 more women commenced new apprenticeships in 2004 than in 1995 and women now make up 41 per cent of all new apprenticeships.
Even in the Australian Parliament - long regarded as a male bastion - women now make up 29 per cent of members and Senators, up from 14 per cent in 1995.
So while women are making inroads across a range of Australian professions they remain underrepresented in the ICT sector. More disappointing is that female participation in ICT is actually going backwards.
There were 16,400 women studying IT in 2003 but that number fell to 13,985 in 2004, a 14.7 per cent decrease in just one year.
To be truly competitive – Australia needs to make the most of its abundant resources and this includes its people.
Attendees of this summit have not gathered here because we believe it would be nice for more women to work in the sector – we are here today because the low female participation rate represents an opportunity lost for the ICT sector.
It concerns me that a sector of the economy that will continue to play an enormous role in our future growth is underutilising the talent residing in more than half the population.
Commitment to Convene a Summit
I made an election commitment to convene this Summit because Australia will not be able to continue to enjoy both the productivity benefits from the application of ICT nor the creative potential of ICT unless we have enough skilled people on the ground.
And we are currently missing out on a large section of the population—women—who, for reasons which I hope we will get a better understanding of today, are currently not being attracted to ICT-related work.
Women represent a massive untapped resource and pool of talent for the ICT sector.
We need to specifically identify the barriers which are preventing women from participating in ICT and develop creative solutions to encourage more women to study ICT and work in ICT-related professions.
And the statistics themselves only tell part of the story. The absence of women is, arguably, having a larger impact on the quality of Australia’s ICT capability.
ICT firms, and firms using ICT, need to understand and respond to their customers.
ICT is less and less a backroom job and more about service delivery, operational improvements, problem-solving and finding new ways of doing things.
Women are already well represented in ICT professions in many sectors, such as health, where ICT is transforming the way services are delivered.
The ABS reports, however, that in October 2003 in health and community services women made up:
56 per cent of IT managers;
- 38 per cent of computing professionals; and
- 49 per cent of computing support technicians.
These numbers are extraordinary when you compare them to the overall participation rates.
Is it because women are attracted to working with ICT in the health sector because they can clearly see the benefit technology is having on essential service delivery?
The experience in the health sector suggests that if ICT is seen as an enabler rather than technology for technology’s sake – then we will attract more women into the sector.
This is also backed up by research undertaken by the University of Western Sydney in two High Schools in 2001, which found that girls preferred to use ICT in creative ways and the application of ICT, whereas boys were more interested in understanding the technical operations of the systems.
Unfortunately this study also found that ICT was being taught in schools in a way that favoured technical understanding rather than fostering the application of the technology.
Women in ICT Summit Advisory Group
To begin the task of finding the answers to the problem of female participation, in March I established an Advisory Group to help identify key issues that need to be considered at this Summit and to assist in its planning.
The Advisory Group is made up of prominent Australian women from the ICT and education sectors and their ideas and guidance have been invaluable.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the members of the Advisory Group for the significant commitment they have made to steer the direction and the focus of today’s Summit.
From the outset, the Group was firmly of the opinion that attracting more women into ICT-related professions is a business imperative rather than any form of affirmative action.
What was also apparent from the first planning meeting was that the low participation rates for women should be properly presented as part of a larger problem of attracting both men and women into ICT-related work.
To reflect this we have called today’s event the “Participation” Summit to indicate the need to increase overall participation in ICT, not just increased participation by women.
Future supply of skills
Participation issues need to be squarely situated against the broader backdrop of intergenerational and demographic changes which are likely to reduce the overall supply of skilled labour for Australian business in the future.
Many baby-boomers are coming up to retirement age.
This problem is compounded by the changing attitudes and approaches to work by the future leaders, managers and employees who will be taking their place in the workforce — the so called “Generation Y”.
The Productivity Commission’s report, The Economic Implications of an Ageing Australia, observes that the population aged over 65 years is projected to rise from 13 to 24 per cent in the next 30 years and that labour force participation rates are projected to fall by around 7 percentage points to 56 per cent in that time.
As the first generation of the IT workforce are approaching retirement age, there is some concern that the current generation may not be coming online to replace them.
There has been a 25 per cent decrease in the number of University students, both male and female, commencing ICT studies between 2001 and 2004.
This demographic issue has been raised by Fiona Balfour, the Chief Information Officer of Qantas—and a member of the Advisory Group for this Summit.
Fiona’s biggest concern is that not only are the numbers decreasing - but that a set of critical skills are going to be lost when the current generation retires and our capacity to maintain critical legacy infrastructure will go with them.
As the older generation of IT specialists retire over the next few years we must ensure that their detailed understanding of the legacy systems which are critical to the operations of companies like Qantas and the banks are not lost with them.
However, while technical expertise will remain important, working as an ICT professional increasingly requires a broader range of skills.
These skills include creative, interpersonal and project management skills, as well as expertise in specific application areas, such as health and education.
Not only is the sector diversifying – but the job prospects are picking up too after a period of downturn.
The latest job vacancy survey released by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations shows that the ICT vacancy index is 42 per cent higher than it was 12 months ago.
But despite these improving prospects, ICT just doesn’t appear to be on the radar for young Australians.
We need to get a better handle on the issues which are deterring Generation Y from entering ICT-related professions.
A recent McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives, reiterating the comments of Fiona Balfour, found that technology executives consider finding skilled people as one of their biggest challenges.
Marketing to the Y Generation
Attracting this generation to ICT requires specific marketing and communication strategies and there is a commercial rationale for doing this.
Governments and industry need to assist young people understand the opportunities that gaining technology skills can bring.
While many people have said to me that the diffusion of ICT across the economy makes it hard to explain exactly what an ICT career is to young people - I say embrace this diversity – use it as a selling point.
ICT professionals are now employed across a variety of industry sectors.
In May 2005, Australia had around 340,000 ICT professionals employed across all sectors of the economy, representing 3.5 per cent of the total workforce.
But the ICT industry itself accounted for only about 40 per cent this workforce. The remaining 60 per cent are spread across all parts of the economy, such as finance, health, entertainment and education.
Generation Y is the most technology-literate of all generations – we need to help them realise that the information technology that they are heavily exposed to contains limitless potential and can provide an exciting, creative and diverse career.
That is why the focus of today’s summit needs to be broad –we need to convince all young Australians that ICT is an exciting and flexible career option.
Succeed in that, and you will inevitably attract more women into the sector.
Our second keynote speaker today, Peter Sheahan, has written, researched and worked in understanding what is attractive to this generation and I look forward to his insights on motivating Generation Y.
ICT’s Contribution to the Australian Economy
But why should we motivate this generation to participate in ICT?
It is because ICT is increasingly important to Australia’s economic prosperity.
And it is essential that ICT continues to contribute to economic development and growth.
In 2002-03, some 24,000 ICT specialist firms produced goods and services to the value of around $49 billion and Australian ICT goods and services exports were valued at $4.2 billion in 2004.
These figures are significant in themselves.
But perhaps more significant is the contribution made by ICT to the overall productivity of the Australian economy.
A report on Productivity Growth in Services Industries shows that between 59 and 78 per cent of productivity growth in the services industries in the 17 years to 2001-02 can be attributed to technology, including ICT.
To continue these amazing gains, we need talented people working in IT and we need the business community to understand that this is an issue worthy of their attention.
Frances Cairncross, our international keynote speaker, has written and spoken widely about how vital it is for business to embrace communications technologies if they are to compete effectively in the marketplace.
While those gathered here today obviously know this - it is a message that needs to be heard by our broader business community and I hope today will help to get that message across.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge Frances Cairncross for travelling around the world to be participate in this Summit.
In a display of considerable generosity, I understand that Frances has agreed to donate her usual fee toward a scholarship fund for students from Exeter College at Oxford to study in Australia or the region.
Increasing Influence of ICT
If we need Generation Y to become engaged with the ICT for economic reasons, we have to work harder to capture their imaginations.
We have to demonstrate that ICT is key to Australia meeting national challenges such as a sustainable environment, a world-class education and health care sector and strong national security.
As an example of the increasing influence of ICT - Richard Newton, Dean of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley gave an exciting presentation to the recent ICT Outlook Forum, on a current project to address diseases such as malaria, HIV Aids and tuberculosis.
In his presentation Richard talked about the huge improvements in drug production which are now achievable through the application of ICT to synthetic biology.
For example, the Berkeley team is close to achieving its goal of reducing the cost of an anti-malarial shot from US$30 to 10 cents.
This translates not just into huge savings in health care costs but ultimately lives. The education sector is similarly being transformed and broadband-enabled virtual classrooms are allowing students in remote areas to see their teachers for the first time and the opportunities for school children to collaborate with international students have never been greater.
In security and counter-terrorism, ICT is at the centre of new research to identify faces in crowds and detect suspicious behaviour.
ICT has an amazing potential to transform not just a range of sectors, but our day-to-day lives.
Again this potential should be a boon not a hindrance - the real challenge is for the industry and educators to convey this to young people considering their career options.
We need to capture the imagination of our young people with the creative potential of ICT.
We need to let our young people know that they can use ICT to really make a difference and that ICT is at the forefront of solving major national and global challenges – such as fighting disease and reducing our water usage.
Working together to improve ICT skills
Today's Participation Summit is taking place in the context of a broader range of activities which will help to support the ICT skills base.
This cross Government approach involves the Education, Employment and Immigration portfolios as well as my own Communications portfolio.
This is also a matter which requires coordinated activity by governments at all levels across Australia.
At the Online Council meeting of Ministers last month, State and Territory Ministers agreed to work with the Australian Government to address ICT skills issues and reinforce the importance of ICT skills across the entire economy.
I want to ensure that ICT workers are aware of the skills in demand and they are in the best position to take advantage of the training and other initiatives that will help them to move with the industry.
Employers, the education sector and government also need to coordinate their efforts to ensure that ICT graduates have the skills, both technical and non-technical, that they need to secure a long-term rewarding career in ICT.
Earlier this year, I established a joint government, industry and education sector ICT Skills Foresighting Working Group.
This Group will report back to me later this year on ways to improve the ICT skills base in Australia, including how we can better anticipate upcoming shortages in the pipeline and avoid the “stop/go” approaches of the past.
A number of emerging themes from the ICT Skills Foresighting project are of particular relevance to today's Summit.
These include proposals for improved data collection and reporting on ICT skills and occupations.
They also include improved careers promotion and planning, promotion of good workplace practices including retraining of ICT professionals, and improved industry support for students and teachers.
It is clear that ongoing technical and business convergence will generate demand for new specialised technical skills, as well as broader service delivery skills, creating the potential for new skills shortages over the next few years, in areas such as systems integration.
The need to safeguard the Internet as the key conduit for business, finance and national defence will also generate new opportunities.
For example, we can already see shortages in a range of specialist areas such as network security.
All of this underlines the key importance of better forecasting of ICT developments and the importance of industry retraining initiatives to keep workforce skills in line with changing technologies and service developments.
I have also established an Australian Telework Advisory Committee, which will report to me by February next year.
One of the first activities of this group was to commission a study of teleworking by Sensis.
This research - the Teleworking Insights Report, which I am launching today demonstrates higher levels of teleworking exist in Australia than we expected.
This study shows that about 30 per cent of Australians have teleworked and around a third of SMEs use teleworking.
These figures are much higher than comparative research in US at 25 per cent and Europe at 13 per cent.
I believe that Teleworking which has been made possible by the ICT revolution provides a valuable mechanism for enhancing workplace flexibility and improving the balance between work and family life –
especially for women coming back into the workforce after having children.
I also believe the ICT sector can be an exemplar in utilising technology to provide flexible working arrangements and ultimately prove a more attractive working environment for those seeking greater balance in their life.
It will be important to coordinate outcomes arising from these initiatives with others such as those emerging from today's Summit.
Themes for the Summit
The Advisory Group has identified four main themes for today's Summit and detailed background information on these themes has been provided to participants to help guide discussions. These four themes are:
Changing the way that ICT is represented to better reflect the nature of today’s ICT-related professions and the opportunities that it offers;
Helping to ensure the ICT work environment is attractive to women, men and Generation Y;
Ensuring that curriculum design and careers advice address Australia's ICT needs; and
Considering the potential for a national approach to enhancing participation in ICT.
As the background papers for the Summit show, there has already been a large amount of activity in Australia and overseas focused on the issue of participation, particularly of women, in ICT.
However, this is the first time that a national Summit has been convened bringing together all the key players in an attempt to address the critical issues which have impeded greater participation in the past.
We have today, a great opportunity to focus, harness and coordinate efforts by governments, the education sector and by industry and take these forward.
Conclusion
As I have been suggesting, a central issue for today’s discussions is how we can change the way that ICT is perceived—particularly by young people.
Personally I think that the somewhat dry acronym “ICT” is often a source of confusion and could well be part of the turn off.
It does little to convey the exciting range of opportunities for young people in today’s fast-moving information, carriage and content industries.
When people speak of convergence, they really speak of the influence of ICT. It is the fulcrum for change across a range of traditional sectors, and is especially evident in the merging of telecommunications, the Internet and traditional media.
Jane Treadwell, Chief Information Officer for the Victorian Government has suggested that, instead of the technical side, the letters ICT should highlight other attributes of today’s diverse ICT-related professions.
That is, the ‘I’ in ICT could stand for innovation, ‘C’ for creativity and ‘T’ for transformation.
Jane makes an excellent point.
Many women who have been attracted to ICT would support this view of the profession as being not only a good career choice, but also as an opportunity to make a positive and substantial difference in the world.
May I take this opportunity to acknowledge one of these ICT professionals, Sonja Bernhardt, a member of the Advisory Group who is here today.
Sonja is the first Australian woman to be inducted into the 2005 Women in Technology International USA Hall of Fame.
This is the most prestigious award given to women who have made significant contributions in the fields of science and technology. Congratulations Sonja!
As far as the ICT profession is concerned, I believe we have a great message for Australians, whether they are just entering the workforce, looking for a new career challenge, or returning to work.
The message is that ICT is a great profession to work in.
It is challenging, it is fun, it is increasingly in demand.
It is well rewarded and it is helping to solve some real challenges facing Australia.
Whether your interest is in the burgeoning multi-media industries, the financial sector, or in delivering improved health services, the overwhelming message is that ICT professional skills will help you work in these industries.
Addressing the ICT skills needed to maintain productivity returns for the nation will need ongoing attention by government, the education sector and industry.
Today's Summit is part of that ongoing process. I invite you all to contribute and I look forward to hearing your suggestions.
Already I have heard of some significant initiatives for which today’s Summit has been a catalyst for.
The Managing Director of Dell in Australia, Joe Kremer is developing a pilot ‘Women in IT mentoring’ program involving five ICT firms and aimed at improving the career progression opportunities for women in the sector.
The senior executives of each organisation have agreed to donate their time over 12 months to mentor one high potential female manager/executive nominated by another member organisation and the scheme should be launched later this year.
This is a great outcome and builds on other industry initiatives that I know have been taking place. I encourage the private sector to get behind these initiatives whole-heartedly.
The bar has been raised and I am keen to see what other suggestions will emerge from today’s gathering.
I am pleased to declare the Participation Summit officially open.
Thank you.