New Zealand faces digital skills shortage
- Claire Lee
New Zealand is lagging behind in its digital economy, lacking hardware, tech products and digitally skilled workers, highlighted a report by the Technology Users Association of New Zealand (TUANZ).
The country currently ranks 42nd in the world for overall access to technology, 56th on cybersecurity, 62nd for high tech exports and 69th on medium and high-tech manufacturing.
The report, which surveyed the priorities and concerns of New Zealand’s digital business leaders, also found that challenges firms face include plugging the skills gap, retaining staff, attracting and hiring talent.
Business leaders believe that the country currently lacks the scale and capital required to invest or adopt new technologies in many sectors.
“New Zealand must find ways to bring new skills into the industry or risk an ongoing brake on the aspirations of our companies to compete in this increasingly digital world,” said Craig Young, CEO of TUANZ, reports IT Brief.
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“While we will always need to bring skills in from offshore, our companies and Government also need to be aligned in developing home grown talent, especially in underrepresented groups such as women, Maori and Pasifika,” he added.
