Hundreds of women will be trained and mentored as part of a new government-funded skills program designed to help tear down the barriers to entering and advancing in Australia’s $167 billion technology sector.
Amid the ongoing tech skills shortage, the FemTech project will see vocational education and training, as well as other professional development, offered to more than 700 women over the next three years.
Professionals Australia will lead the program, working with Girl Geek Academy, a startup helping girls and women establish successful tech and science careers, and other partners like TAFE Queensland and Koorie Women Mean Business.
The project has been funded with $4.9 million from the government’s $45 million Building Women’s Careers Program, part of the Future Made in Australia agenda, in recognition of the need to create new pathways into tech careers.
As many as 312,000 new tech workers will be needed by 2030 – 52,000 each year – if the country is to meet what the Australian Computer Society’s latest Digital Pulse Report describes as soaring industry demand.
Most acute is the cybersecurity skills shortage, with demand, having already grown 80 per cent since 2020, set to double by 2030 thanks in part to the AI boom, the same report found.
“This is about creating practical, accessible pathways into tech careers to address Australia’s critical skills shortage,” Girl Geek co-founder Sarah Moran said of the project.
The program is expected to take an “evidence-based approach to skills development” and will build on successful models oversees that have demonstrated increased workforce participation.
Ms Moran said “innovative ‘Tafe at School’ programs plus certificate and diploma courses” in digital and technology industries will be offered to 224 participants, while a further 200 participants will gain professional development and leadership training.
“Industry best practice and professional standards programs” will also be offered to 300 participants, according to Professionals Australia, which will also deliver networking events and a dedicated pathway for First Nations talent.
“What makes this program transformative is its focus on scaling what we know works – experienced professionals mentoring emerging talent and building strong professional networks,” Ms Moran added.
“When professionals support each other through established networks and communities, we see faster innovation and stronger business outcomes. This program will help us expand these proven approaches across hundreds more workplaces.”
Announcing the program on Monday, Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles said the project was one of 10 aimed at “tackling the structural and cultural barriers that often stop women from consider careers in these industries head on”.
Minister for Women Katy Gallagher added that by working with employer groups, peak bodies and unions, the government is working to drive “real change across industry” and create “safer, more respectful workplaces for all Australians”.
“Australia has one of the highest rates of industry segregation among advanced economies, which is why projects like these are so important,” Senator Gallagher said of the program funded in last year’s federal Budget.
Nine other projects received grants alongside FemTech, including the Future Energy Skills’ Transforming Gender Equity project, which aims to identify and address barriers to women’s participation in clean energy apprenticeships.
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