ACS, the professional association for Australia's ICT sector, launched its 2018 ACS Australia's Digital Pulse report in Melbourne.

The report highlights that Victoria's ICT workforce will grow by 2.5% or more than 30,000 by 2023.

ACS President Yohan Ramasundara says “The demand for digital skills in our economy is exploding. The growth of artificial intelligence, automation and the internet of things is driving significant disruption across all industries, and highly trained ICT professionals are in more demand than ever before.

“If we want to be competitive in the world economy, we need to invigorate the education and training sectors to increase Australia's ICT talent pool,” Mr Ramasundara added.

ACS Victoria branch chair Maria Markman welcomed the continued recognition of the strength of the Victoria economy.

“Victoria is Australia's fastest growing economy and the technology sector is a driving force behind that. This year's report helps us plan for the future and identify those areas of our local digital economy which will help fuel the job growth.

“Our largest growth area is in the ICT Technical and professional sectors, demonstrating that the work being done to build a digitally skilled local economy is paying dividends. While there is more work to do on the diversity front, the fact that we have a strong local sector means we can devote more resources to enhancing diversity within the sector.

The report also investigates Australia's international competitiveness in ICT, finding that Australia is in the middle of the pack without any movement over the last five years.

ACS Australia's Digital Pulse 2018 investigates the digital policy environment in Australia and looks at the potential levers to encourage businesses to invest in new technologies, innovation and skills development.

It reveals how we can accelerate digitally led economic growth and improve Australia's overall international ICT competitiveness.

Report overview:

• Victoria's ICT workforce will grow by 2.5% or more than 30,000 by 2023.
• The demand for digital skills in Australia is exploding.
• The growth of AI, automation and the IoT is driving significant disruption across all industries.