‘Huge potential for further growth’: Want a job in Brisbane? This is what you should study
Jobs in this sector are growing at five times the rate of all other occupations in Queensland. Want to future proof yourself? Study this.
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As Australia seeks to double the pool of tech workers by 2030, local industry leaders are pointing to the flexibility, opportunity and development benefits of the sector.
Tech Council chief executive officer Kate Pounder says there is incredible tech potential in Queensland.
“The growth rate of tech jobs has been five times that of other jobs in the economy,” she says.
“The South East Queensland region has got a lot of the fastest growing areas for tech jobs in Australia. So it’s really becoming a great place for tech opportunity.”
Twenty-five years since the Smart State initiative was devised, industry leaders want to position Brisbane as the national tech leader ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Their vision dovetails with the shared goal of the Australian government and the Tech Council to achieve 1.2 million workers in tech by 2030, a target that will take growth of 8 per cent a year to achieve.
One company is setting the bar higher than that. At Brisbane-based, $5bn ASX-listed TechnologyOne, the organisation has a target to double its revenue in five years.
TechnologyOne CEO and managing director, Ed Chung, says Queensland and Australia are absolutely the best place to live, work and do business.
Proudly local, the company champions its difference from the global tech giants as part of its competitive offering.
“Our world-leading universities are a breeding ground for innovators who think differently and want to put their ideas on the world stage,” he says.
“Queensland is already a heavy hitter in technology and innovation.
“Sports tech is thriving here. We have an international reputation for biotech – just look at the role University of Queensland, a world-leading Brisbane university, played in developing a Covid-19 vaccine.”
Professor Warwick Bowen from the University of Queensland’s School of Mathematics and Physics says the opportunity to build the city’s tech industry is huge.
“The sports industry is often an early adopter of new technologies, as teams work to get a competitive edge,’’ he says.
“We have a huge opportunity to build our local tech industry in the lead up to 2032, and quantum technologies – which allow us to solve complex challenges – will be key as Queensland is already a leader in this space.
“We’re well positioned with the State Government’s $76m investment in the Queensland Quantum and Advanced Technologies Strategy. We’re already working with industry and government to develop home-grown quantum technologies that could enable more accurate injury diagnosis, anti-doping testing, athlete performance monitoring, refereeing and commentating, and even to optimise logistics to move athletes and visitors around.
“What’s more exciting is this technology has applications far wider than sport and a thriving local industry will make it more cost effective and accessible for other purposes such as improved healthcare.”
The number of tech workers in Queensland is expected to reach 185,000 by 2030, rising from the current group of about 140,000. These people will be employed across industries including energy, agriculture, environment, health, medicine and sports performance.
Brisbane recently hosted the National Tech Summit, bringing together more than 350 established and emerging businesses to boost collaboration and growth.
The Queensland Tech Jobs Opportunity report found growth in tech jobs was located in surprising places. The outer suburban North Lakes had the fastest-growing concentration of tech workers, as did semi-rural Jimboomba and the Gold Coast’s Southport.
“In Queensland, the growth in tech jobs diverged from the growth rate of all other occupations in 1995,’’ the Queensland Tech Jobs Opportunity report says.
“Since then, the growth in tech jobs has steadily picked up speed.
“This growth is the product of a multi-decade trend reflecting the greater digitisation of the economy.”
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says the city is already home to burgeoning early-stage and high-growth companies, from hyper-personalised medicine and digital connectivity, to artificial intelligence and robotic automation, including Vald Performance, Max Kelsen, Clinials and Australian Droid and Robot.
“Our natural advantages are helping drive growth across all sectors, including tech, and there’s huge potential for further growth,” Schrinner says.
“Home to the brightest minds and world-class innovation, the city’s talent base will be supercharged by Australia’s highest levels of migration growth, coupled with strong population growth set to surge by 43 per cent by 2041.
“Clearly, there is a lot of opportunity here in Brisbane to innovate and adopt world-class technology as we sprint towards the future on the green and gold runway.”
Kate Pounder says tech is an industry where someone can enter “on the ground floor” and grow with the company, but there is also a strong community culture.
“It’s an industry that loves solving problems,” she says. “It’s very exciting and dynamic to work in.’’
In Brisbane specifically it is a beautiful, quite community-oriented culture.
“There are the people who are pioneers in the industry who really reach down and help other people, and help them as they become mentors and investors,’’ Pounder says.
“ So there’s a great camaraderie as well.’’
Chung, who has led TechnologyOne since 2017, says they are deliberately focused on ways to retain, employ and welcome back staff.
They recently engaged surfing legend, world champion Steph Gilmore, as an ambassador for wellbeing initiatives, offer
two-and-a-half volunteer days a year, opened a new, free HealthLab in their Brisbane head office, and host hack day events for innovation.
“These are valuable things that our staff want – particularly after Covid lockdowns and social isolation – that draw people to a company, but that also drive them to stay,” Chung says.
“Increases to cost of living and rates rises mean more people are keen to settle down and have a stable job.
“Wage remains a large part of the equation, but job stability and value-add initiatives focused on wellbeing and community are also central considerations.
“We describe our culture as one big tribe: we bring together different minds, diverse ways of thinking and assorted skillsets in a way that fosters innovation.”
The company recently hosted its first in-person Company Kick Off (CKO), with more than 90 per cent of its staff globally, to mingle, innovate and hear from experts in the field and in wellbeing.
Grit, resilience and celebration of success were key ideas, including presentations from mindset coach Ben Crowe and swimming champion Duncan Armstrong.
Chung says the three-day event was an opportunity to convene about the future direction of the business, explore the possibilities for delivering innovative solutions to customers and, importantly, to be inspired by success.
“In a workplace where we encourage team members to work hard for the communities they serve, it’s important to me that we also show them how to unwind and keep a healthy frame of mind.’’
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