ACS says closing the digital skills gap could be worth $25 billion – and workers are hungry for training

Closing digital skills gaps could create a $25 billion economic boost for Australia according to the 11th Australia’s Digital Pulse report, released this week by the Australian Computer Society (ACS) — the professional association of the nation’s technology professionals.

A survey commissioned for the report and carried out by consultancy firm Deloitte found 77% of nearly 800 technology workers who were surveyed believed they had insufficient skills in at least one digital capability required for their role.

The most prevalent deficiencies among technology workers were found to be in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics automation, and augmented and virtual reality.

Just over half (51%) of the more than 400 workers surveyed from other industries cited insufficient capacity in at least one digital skill needed in their work — predominantly in using AI to analyse data and write content, cybersecurity, and digital dashboards.

A separate survey of more than 300 Australian C-suite executives from various industries found 15% were experiencing digital skills shortages in their business, suggesting around 150,000 Australian businesses could be facing similar issues, ACS said.

Fixing these gaps could improve Australia’s productivity with a $25 billion economic uplift by 2035, according to ACS’s analysis, including by helping to mitigate costs from cyberattacks.

_{Image: Australia’s Digital Pulse 2025}

ACS CEO Josh Griggs said Australia needed to make sure every worker had “the capabilities to work with and lead digital transformation” so the country could compete globally.

“If we close these gaps, Australia stands to unlock billions in economic growth, improve cyber resilience, and position itself as a global tech leader,” he said.

“Our plan is not just about fixing today’s problems — it’s about creating a future-ready nation.”

Australia fell from 13th to 18th place in the latest World Competitiveness Rankings, released in June by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) — after averaging 19th between 2023 and 2018.

Uplifting digital skills 

Among 10 recommendations made in the latest Digital Pulse report, ACS argued C-suite executives should take a “digital skills health check”, after its survey found nearly half (45%) of 310 executives who responded only had ‘basic’ capabilities in one of five digital skills required for their role.

“The health check would include understanding their own digital capabilities to help identify any blind spots, the digital capabilities and gaps within their team and how the use of digital technologies fits within their current business strategy,” ACS said.

“Building the health check into planning would also strengthen organisation’s future strategy, technology governance, and security.”

ACS reiterated its calls for the government to fast-track the National Skills Taxonomy being developed by Jobs and Skills Australia and align it to frameworks such as the global Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA), to minimise gaps between workers’ skills and available jobs.

The society also called for the government to implement an ‘earn while you learn’ scheme to encourage more mid-career workers to reskill and upskill in technology.

The 2024 Australia’s Digital Pulse report suggested one million workers could be reskilled for jobs in tech, which needed more people with the right skills in fields such as AI and cybersecurity.

Workers had already begun responding to increasing digital skills requirements in the economy, ACS said in its new report, with 96% of surveyed technology workers and 70% of other workers having undertaken training to maintain or improve their digital skills in the past year.

“Realising the $25 billion benefit requires addressing the digital skills gaps right across the Australian economy, from entry level roles to C-suite executives,” the report stated.

“Addressing this challenge will require us to think differently about the pathways we use to source technology talent and how we upskill all workers across the economy.”

Vocational training vs uni degree

C-suite executives saw vocational education and training (VET) qualifications and industry certificates as more useful indicators of tech workers’ capabilities than university degrees, according to the survey.

While 41% of surveyed executives said relevant VET qualifications and industry certificates were effective indicators of likely performance, only 34% said the same for university degrees.

Despite their preference for industry certifications and VET qualifications, 88% of the surveyed executives said their business required workers in technology roles to have a university degree.

This mismatch was “likely preventing businesses from accessing the talent they need”, said ACS, which urged federal, state, and territory governments to push companies to allow more entry-level hires to come from alternative, non-university pathways.

The federal government’s fee-free TAFE program, introduced in 2023, likely contributed to a recorded increase in enrolments in VET IT courses that year, ACS said.

The society’s 10 recommendations also urged the government to develop formal strategies in sovereign AI and innovation, while also investing in local scaleup companies and providing greater incentives to improve Australia’s research and development (R&D) environment.

The 2025 edition of Australia’s Digital Pulse can be downloaded from the ACS website.

• This story first appeared on Information Age. You can read the original here.