New Zealand rolls out plans to ease IT skills shortage
- Claire Lee
New Zealand plans to implement a digital tech internship platform, adopt a new skills framework, and reskill and upskill workers to help ease the country’s ongoing IT skills shortage.
These were some of the measures outlined in the digital technologies sector draft Industry Transformation Plan (ITP), which was released for consultation and feedback from the local tech industry.
“This ITP is a way we can collaborate with the industry to help lift productivity, increase exports and further employment opportunities,” said Digital Economy and Communications Minister David Clark in a statement.
“We are aware the tech sector is a transition industry for New Zealand, and we need to support the industry to grow,” he said.
“Historically there has been a ‘skills mismatch’. The key to our future success is training our workforce with the right skills. If we want to train world-class tech experts, they need to be learning from the best,” Clark added.
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“Rather than developing longer and more structured pathways for upskilling existing staff, businesses have increasingly relied upon immigration to access the required skills at the required time,” noted the draft plan.
“This has created high levels of employee turnover, as individuals actively seek new opportunities to advance within the sector,” it read.
