Government struggles to fill ICT posts

Filling ICT posts continues to be the major headache for the Federal Government, its latest State of the Service report shows.

Senior public sector executives rate ICT among the toughest jobs to fill.

Some 93 percent of executives indicated that recruiting or retaining ICT personnal had a “severe” or “moderate” impact on their area’s capabilities.

The next toughest category of jobs to fill were in project management (84 percent) and accounting or finance (75 percent).

Overall, the Federal public service employed 12,303 ICT workers as at 30 June 2011, a 6.2 percent increase over the previous year.

Large agencies employed the bulk of staff. The largest agencies by ICT personnel are:

• Department of Human Services (2798)
• Australian Taxation Office (1700)
• Department of Defence (1615)
• DEEWR (1127)
• Department of Immigration and Citizenship (605)
• Australian Bureau of Statistics (466)

The report identifies 12 ICT occupations that increased staff numbers year-on-year. The greatest increases occurred in development and programming, program-project management and testing.

At the same time seven ICT occupations declined in numbers with the greatest decrease occurring in systems analysis and design due to difficulties in recruiting or retaining staff.

Across the public service the heaviest impact on capability in relation to ICT workforce shortages were systems analysis/design, program-project management and infrastructure and facilities.

A minority of agencies provide their own ICT workforce plans annually. The proportion of agencies with a documented workforce plan was 26 percent up on last year’s 21 percent.

Agencies have been attempting to reduce the ICT shortages by submitting workforce plans in line with the whole-of-government ICT strategic workforce plan for 2010-13, launched early last year.