The tech sector has delivered many benefits to the New Zealand economy. From creating jobs to boosting growth in weightless exports, the industry has also proven helpful in ramping up the digital transformation of the economy. As per 2019 data, the sector is served by 21,870 companies and 114,450 employees. It also contributes an estimated 8% to the NZ GDP.
Although this progress has continued through the pandemic, the industry is facing new challenges due to a lack of a sufficient workforce with the requisite digital skills. According to NZTech, the industry has for the last few years heavily relied on skilled professionals that have immigrated to the country. With the onset of the pandemic, these numbers have dwindled, leading to a shortage of about 10,000 roles in the market.
This has had a devastating effect on companies who are now faced with having to turn down new work or are unable to complete projects on time. It has also led to mounting pressure on existing workers to try and keep up with increasing demands, resulting in stress and wellbeing concerns. They are driving tech advancement in various other sectors including health, insurance, agriculture, and textiles. It has also been instrumental in facilitating remote work during the pandemic when lockdowns have been put into effect.
The sector has also had a growing impact on the accounting profession. Accounting giant Deloitte NZ attributes about $90 million of its revenue business to their consulting work. Tech is a fundamental aspect of this niche business and its contributions have been aided by such initiatives as the launch of Deloitte Digital in 2018 and stronger demand for cloud-based digital transformation services during the pandemic. The company is however also being hampered by a lack of skill supply.
Global tech giant, Amazon Web Services, is looking to address the problem by attracting more women to the IT sector through their SheDares programme. This recently launched initiative offers a range of training opportunities that will feed talent into the local workforce. Starting with a free online introductory programme, it hopes to alter statistics that indicate that women make up just 25% of the workers in the IT sector.
While businesses are upbeat at the news that the government intends to reopen borders to vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries from the first quarter of 2022, many are still pressing for a plan to resume labour imports sooner. This is expected to bring relief to sectors that heavily rely on the immigrant workforce and have had to contend with higher costs and lower output.
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