Almost half of Gen Z students taught only basic tech in school, Dell study says

New statistics highlight the challenges facing Australian high school students as they prepare to enter the workforce.

University of Melbourne graduate Alisha Vanrietvelde. Picture: Alan Nguyen

Almost half of Gen Z were taught only basic computing skills in school, with a further 10 per cent given no technology education at all.

That is according to a Dell survey which questioned over 15,000 people aged 18 to 26, including more than 1000 Australians, on the technology education they received during school.

The study included participation from Gen Z respondents in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the US.

The survey found that 72 per cent of Australians, and 76 per cent of respondents globally, believed learning new digital skills was essential to broadening their career prospects.

Medical receptionist Alisha Vanrietvelde, 22, agreed, and said she only began IT classes from grade 11.

The postgraduate student, who completed a bachelor of criminology last year at the University of Melbourne, said much of what she learned about computing was self-taught or was learned via modules in tertiary education.

“In primary school and, let’s say in middle school, I definitely did not have much technological information taught to me,” she said.

“What I can remember learning in grade 11 and 12 was really just basic information. It was more how to write documents in Microsoft Word, how to send documents via email and logging into the school IT system.”

Asked if what she had learned in school prepared her for university, Ms Vanrietvelde said no. Similarly, 37 per cent of Dell’s survey respondents said that their school education did not supply them with sufficient technological skills they needed to perform their career.

Ms Vanrietvelde attended a private school in Cairns, in northern Queensland.

Katrina Lawrence, Dell’s vice president of public sector, said the stats surrounding minimal and inadequate teaching of IT in schools were not surprising.

While schools should have their own independent curriculum, they could benefit from having a board of technology giants including Dell, Microsoft and Apple to overlook what is being taught, she said.

Dell vice president of public sector Katrina Lawrence.

“I think that in this research there’s a lot of responsibility that is put upon the public sector, but it’s important that we realise that it’s not just the public sector (who needs to step up) and certainly the private sector has a part to play,” she said.

Young Australians would benefit from schools and universities adopting the applications used in the workforce rather than trying to build their own systems so that students would not be left behind when starting full-time work, Ms Vanrietvelde said.

“Schools are still lacking and are extremely behind in upgrading their education to reflect the integrated technology we use in society today,” she said.

“I think schools need to be quicker at doing that so that children can learn more and be better prepared.”

Bridging the skills gap was, according to 42 per cent of respondents, the responsibility of schools. However, about 44 per cent supported the idea of businesses and schools working together to develop IT curriculum.

About 34 per cent of Gen Zs in Australia believe technology courses should be more interesting and widely available. A further 26 per cent believe they should be mandatory for school students up to the age of 16.