'Widespread digital skills shortage' hitting 150,000 businesses nationally, ACS warns as it calls for new fast-tracked tech skills framework
An ACS (Australian Computing Society) report estimates that more than half of the tech industry workforce believe they lack the skills to propel Australia into the future of AI.
The ACS Digital Pulse 2025, released on July 30, said AI skills will be crucial to sustaining Australia's tech sector, which contributes $134 billion to the economy and generates more than one million jobs.
However the report found business leaders have been hit with a startling skills gap, with 51 per cent of workers surveyed claiming to lack at least one digital skill.
ACS is recommending an ten-point action plan to fix the slide, including fast-tracking a national tech skills framework and promoting alternative career pathways to degrees such as vocational education and training (VET). Significant digital skill shortages
The study, prepared by Deloitte Access Economics, found 60 per cent of Australian workers believe their ability to analyse data using AI is below the needs of their current role, while 40 per cent report the same about using digital dashboards.
About 38 per cent of those surveyed said the same when it came to cybersecurity.
It also reported that 150,000 Australian businesses are experiencing "widespread" significant or severe digital skill shortages, with the most common skill shortages in cybersecurity, AI, machine learning and data analytics.
The action plan will be unveiled to the National Press Club in Canberra on September 30 this year.
The body said the recommendations will provide a roadmap for the future of businesses, government bodies and the education sector. Overhaul of Australia's tech training programs
ACS said it was clear change was needed in the tech sector after just one per cent of employers in the industry said graduates were 'job ready'.
One recommendation is to implement an "Earn While You Learn" scheme to help mid-career Australians upskill in digital through a wage subsidy.
The subsidy would be co-funded by business and government and make reskilling more accessible while remaining employed.
ACS also recommends creating more entry-level roles in cybersecurity, given cyberattacks cost the national economy $63 billion in 2024.
Tools like mySFIA can help organisations assess digital capability gaps in real time — supporting targeted hiring, training, and certification across evolving roles.
The report calls on industry to create more structured entry pathways to help fill the 54,000 cybersecurity jobs needed by 2030.
Additional recommendations include bolstering digital literacy among executives by setting up a three-part digital skills health check to help them assess their own strengths and team gaps.
That proposal was prompted by data that found almost half of business leaders report only basic digital capabilities.
Government co-investment in startups, especially those led by women and First Nations entrepreneurs, will also help reverse the "brain drain" overseas, according to ACS. New national research and development strategy
ACS has called for a national innovation strategy to improve Australian R&D investment levels, which sit at just 1.66 per cent of GDP.
"A national innovation roadmap must accompany the forthcoming (Federal Government) Strategic Examination of R&D, driving entrepreneurship and local invention," the key recommendation reads.
The final recommendation was to boost business adoption of artificial intelligence, with ACS saying "AI adoption is Australia's most significant digital skills gap".
'Digital skills are the foundation of Australia's economic future,' said ACS Chief Executive Officer Josh Griggs.
'To compete globally, we need to ensure every worker, from frontline staff to the executive suite, has the capabilities to work with and lead digital transformation.
'If we close these gaps, Australia stands to unlock billions in economic growth, improve cyber resilience, and position itself as a global tech leader.
'Our plan is not just about fixing today's problems, it's about creating a future-ready nation.'
ACS Digital Pulse is an annual report that has recorded the trends shaping Australia's economy since 2014.
The ACS Digital Pulse Report 2025 can be downloaded here from July 30.
This sponsored content is in partnership with ACS.
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