Latest news with #DeloitteAccessEconomics
Sky News AU
29-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
'Widespread digital skills shortage' hitting 150,000 businesses nationally, ACS warns as it calls for new fast-tracked tech skills framework
Some 150,000 Australian businesses are enduring significant digital skills shortages - particularly in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity - the country's peak body for technology professionals has warned. 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.
Sydney Morning Herald
22-07-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Brisbane 2032 could bring a $70 billion windfall: Deloitte
The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will deliver a 20-year $70.7 billion windfall to Australia, international professional services firm Deloitte has claimed in a new report – but only if it acts as a catalyst for economic reform. Released a day before Brisbane marks seven years until the Olympic cauldron is lit at Victoria Park, Deloitte's Going for Gold report found that between 2032 and 2052, the Games would give Greater Brisbane alone a $39.5 billion economic boost. But Deloitte Access Economics lead partner Pradeep Philip told a business lunch in Brisbane on Tuesday that such a scale of success was not preordained; it would require a concerted effort from the private and public sectors to fully capitalise on having global attention in 2032. 'Success does not come without intent, without a plan, without dedication and effort – and even then, all this merely puts you in the best possible position for success,' he said. As the world became more aware of Brisbane through the 2032 Games, Philip said investment would follow. 'With a global spotlight on Brisbane and Australia as a result of the Olympic Paralympic Games, the brand recognition of this region will get a significant boost, and our brand can be so much more than tourism,' he said. 'So the question we ask is, what happens if you better utilise this brand shock to drive a more robust lift in our export investment effort for future years? 'Indeed, lifting our brand value by even one point on the brand score index corresponds to around an additional $1 billion in foreign direct investment and exports each year.'
The Age
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Age
Brisbane 2032 could bring a $70 billion windfall: Deloitte
The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will deliver a 20-year $70.7 billion windfall to Australia, international professional services firm Deloitte has claimed in a new report – but only if it acts as a catalyst for economic reform. Released a day before Brisbane marks seven years until the Olympic cauldron is lit at Victoria Park, Deloitte's Going for Gold report found that between 2032 and 2052, the Games would give Greater Brisbane alone a $39.5 billion economic boost. But Deloitte Access Economics lead partner Pradeep Philip told a business lunch in Brisbane on Tuesday that such a scale of success was not preordained; it would require a concerted effort from the private and public sectors to fully capitalise on having global attention in 2032. 'Success does not come without intent, without a plan, without dedication and effort – and even then, all this merely puts you in the best possible position for success,' he said. As the world became more aware of Brisbane through the 2032 Games, Philip said investment would follow. 'With a global spotlight on Brisbane and Australia as a result of the Olympic Paralympic Games, the brand recognition of this region will get a significant boost, and our brand can be so much more than tourism,' he said. 'So the question we ask is, what happens if you better utilise this brand shock to drive a more robust lift in our export investment effort for future years? 'Indeed, lifting our brand value by even one point on the brand score index corresponds to around an additional $1 billion in foreign direct investment and exports each year.'
ABC News
14-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
The "frank and fearless advice" Treasury gave to Jim Chalmers
Former senior public servant in the Victorian government and now a lead partner at Deloitte Access Economics, Pradeep Philip, expands on the key issues arising from the secret Treasury document.
West Australian
03-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Global uncertainty denting the confidence of Australia's chief bean counters, Deloitte says
Australian chief financial officers are increasingly confident the economy has passed its low point, but the optimism doesn't necessarily stretch to their own business performance over the next year. Deloitte's biannual CFO sentiment report on Thursday gathered responses from over 60 chief bean-counters across Australia and found the share of respondents feeling optimistic about the economy had nearly doubled in just six months. At the same time, sentiment dipped in the first half of 2025, with net optimism in CFOs' own business prospects falling 16 percentage points to 49 per cent. The consulting firm said this was a step back from the levels of optimism recorded throughout 2024, suggesting CFOs have tempered expectations around their own business prospects for the next 12 months. Some 59 per cent of CFOs remain optimistic or highly optimistic about their financial prospects, down 12 percentage points from six months ago. Deloitte said several factors were likely to have contributed to the fall in optimism. US President Donald Trump's tariff chaos have increased uncertainty around global economic outlook and business conditions remained tough as thin margins and weak consumer spending weighed on profits. Many businesses were also grappling with challenges around implementing strategies aimed at boosting operational efficiency. Deloitte Access Economics partner David Rumbens said CFOs were unarguably more optimistic about the Australian economy than they have been in years. 'But just because the economy is doing better than it was, does not mean that it's yet in fantastic health,' he said. 'There are a number of economic factors contributing to the business pressures being felt by CFOs. 'However, there are green shoots — we are firmly within a rate-cutting cycle, inflation appears to be under control, the labour market is relatively resilient and the results of the recent Federal election provide for policy certainty.' These should help CFOs 'forward plan investment and could help lift business sentiment in the coming months', Mr Rumbens said.
