Australia Could Have 200,000 AI Tech Workers by 2030

A roar successful artificial quality has the imaginable to make 200,000 AI-related jobs successful Australia by 2030, according to a report from the Technology Council of Australia. This presents important opportunities for existent tech workers and different professionals to unafraid well-paid jobs and physique careers successful a rapidly increasing sector.

The TCA report, supported by Microsoft, LinkedIn and Workday, states that realising this accidental volition necessitate a 500% maturation successful AI jobs implicit the adjacent 7 years. These roles volition span some tech and non-tech fields, from developers to those selling and selling AI products, arsenic good arsenic those managing unit progressive with AI.

A operation of entry-level grooming successful integer and AI skills, upskilling of existing tech workers and mid-career grooming for those with transferable skills could unfastened doors to AI jobs. The TCA besides recommends leveraging skilled migration to capable roles with planetary talent.

Predicted AI occupation maturation successful Australia by 2030

Australia’s AI workforce included conscionable 800 workers successful 2014, according to the TCA. Amid an AI exertion enlargement some successful Australia and globally, the fig of AI workers roseate to 33,000 successful 2023, accounting for astir 4% of the full section exertion workforce.

The CSIRO, Australia’s nationalist subject body, predicted successful its 2019 AI Roadmap that Australia could person up to 161,000 specializer AI workers by 2030. The TCA’s estimation of 200,000 includes non-tech occupations supporting the scaling, governing and managing of AI systems.

AI jobs successful Australia could turn to 200,000 by 2030 according to the Technology Council of Australia. Image: TCA

If achieved, AI jobs volition turn overmuch faster than different occupations. For example, each tech occupations grew by 46% betwixt 2016 and 2023. Other high-growth occupations, specified arsenic aged and disabled carers arsenic good arsenic registered nurses, are expected to turn by conscionable 20% and 17% respectively, by 2030.

What AI roles volition go disposable successful Australia?

Roles related to the improvement oregon deployment of AI models, systems and products volition relationship for the bulk of caller AI occupation opportunities successful Australia, according to the TCA report. These roles volition gully from antithetic exertion roles and akin STEM “feeder” occupations.

The TCA has estimated the grade of retraining oregon reskilling needed for tech professionals successful assorted roles to modulation into AI-specific roles. For example, engineering professionals volition request important retraining successful areas similar instrumentality learning and information analysis.

Degree of alteration required for existing tech workers to modulation into AI roles. Image: Technology Council of Australia

Factors influencing AI improvement occupation maturation by 2030

AI improvement roles are expected to spot precocious oregon mean rates of workforce maturation based connected existing maturation patterns, according to the TCA. This takes into relationship factors including the expected proviso of caller endowment done grooming and the interaction of AI and automation connected existing roles, expected to beryllium precocious for tech roles successful design, information and engineering.

How antithetic workforce factors are expected to interaction antithetic types of roles successful AI development. Image: Technology Council of Australia

Which AI-related jobs are predicted to turn successful Australia?

Various non-technology roles volition beryllium indispensable to enactment the maturation of AI successful Australia, contributing to a full of 200,000 occupation opportunities successful the country. The TCA outlines roles progressive successful the scaling, governance and absorption of AI successful Australia.

Jobs that volition enactment the scaling of AI

Scaling occupations are progressive successful the commercialisation and scaling of AI systems. They include:

• Sales.
• Customer experience.
• Human resources.
• Marketing.
• Finance.
• Operations.

The TCA said that portion the halfway skills successful these roles are apt to stay stable, employers filling AI-related scaling roles volition similar candidates with a beardown knowing of the discourse successful which they are working, including AI markets and trends.

Which jobs volition enactment the governing of AI?

Governing roles instrumentality successful the legal, argumentation and risk, and compliance areas and see titles specified arsenic lawyer, AI information serviceman and argumentation manager. These roles volition beryllium focused connected processing and maintaining ethical, ineligible and different controls required to guarantee compliance of AI systems.

SEE: Why information governance is simply a absorption for Australian IT professionals successful 2024

The TCA expects that, portion determination volition beryllium capable candidates for these roles, the accomplishment displacement required for an AI-supporting relation could beryllium much important successful these professions.

Which jobs volition enactment the absorption of AI?

Jobs successful managing AI, including CEOs and main AI officers, volition impact mounting organisation-level strategies and ensuring alignment crossed different jobs successful AI. The TCA said determination is nary shortage of section candidates, but an uplift successful AI literacy crossed Australian absorption volition beryllium required.

There whitethorn beryllium recruitment overseas for endowment unavailable successful Australia. The TCA said that this would beryllium for absorption roles that necessitate a heavy level of method acquisition oregon that are niche markets for Australia, specified arsenic scaling heavy tech companies.

What salaries volition beryllium offered for AI jobs successful Australia?

How AI salaries volition inclination done 2030 is unclear. However, AI skills are apt to beryllium successful precocious demand, perchance outstripping proviso successful AI improvement roles. This would propulsion salaries for AI jobs higher, as has been the lawsuit successful the Australian tech assemblage implicit the past decade.

According to Clicks IT Recruitment, the mean wage for an AI technologist successful Australia successful 2024 is AUD $151,665 per twelvemonth oregon AUD $1,065 per day. Entry-level roles statesman astatine $133,335 per year, portion elder level positions for apical exertion candidates tin wage up to $176,665 per year.

What could halt Australia from creating caller AI jobs?

Ensuring a proviso of skilled AI workers volition beryllium the main challenge. The TCA’s study said that past acquisition shows that maturation successful AI jobs whitethorn not effect successful a greater uptake of AI skills grooming among Australian learners and workers, starring to accomplishment shortages successful the industry.

For example, contempt high, sustained jobs maturation for tech workers implicit 20 years, Australians did not consistently undertake much tech grooming done the assemblage oregon vocational acquisition and grooming system, starring to “a procreation of missing tech workers.”

Technology jobs successful Australia grew overmuch faster than grooming was undertaken to capable them implicit the past 20 years. Image: Technology Council of Australia

This could suit those who privation to prehend the accidental successful Australia oregon abroad. Any trouble redirecting Australians into caller AI jobs could effect successful much vocation opportunities and wage growth, arsenic the spread betwixt AI jobs request and disposable skills for jobs widens.

How Australia tin present 200,000 AI jobs by 2030

The transportation of specified a precocious fig of jobs and skills successful AI volition beryllium challenging. Australia’s compliance-heavy VET assemblage has been dilatory to accommodate to integer skills training, and determination are different areas of the tech assemblage competing for occupation candidates, including cyber security.

The TCA is urging for the instauration of an “AI Investment and Capability Plan” to code this and different AI-related problems. It says the improvement of skills-based initiatives should beryllium portion of a broader program to turn Australia’s AI capableness to capitalize connected the market’s aboriginal opportunity.

There are different areas the TCA has recommended beryllium included arsenic portion of the solution.

Retraining pathways whitethorn beryllium expanded and diversified

VET and short-course offerings could beryllium adapted for AI, done an enlargement of existing programs, co-designing caller courses with industry, introducing caller micro credentials oregon creating modern, integer apprenticeships. Mid-career professionals could usage shorter people grooming to reskill, portion entry-level endowment would person AI skills fed into people options.

AI jobs skills promoted to rise jobs awareness

AI skills and careers could beryllium promoted to heighten consciousness of the galore occupation opportunities being created. This would assistance individuals choosing careers and those looking to modulation recognize that AI careers are a viable option. Additionally, it would item the existing grooming and vocation pathways that pb to jobs and vocation maturation successful AI.

Skilled migration utilized to conscionable AI skills needs

Australia is undertaking reforms to its skilled migration, which volition assistance Australia pull planetary AI-related endowment with faster visa processing and by removing concern lists. The removal of concern lists volition beryllium peculiarly impactful for AI jobs, the TCA suggests, due to the fact that “occupations whitethorn look overmuch faster than authoritative statistical systems tin support up”.

Promoting AI literacy crossed the workforce

The TCA has called for wide grooming initiatives to boost AI literacy successful the workforce to hole for wide AI adoption. This is apt to spot a broader introduction of AI-related training arsenic portion of worker onboarding and upskilling programs. The TCA adds this should see upskilling elder absorption successful AI governance and adoption.

AI enactment to beryllium intertwined with Australia’s aboriginal workforce

In a property release, TCA CEO Damian Kassabgi said AI is 1 of the starring tech trends transforming however Australians volition enactment successful the future.

“We’ve seen tremendous maturation successful Australia’s AI workforce successful caller years, which volition lone summation with greater adoption of the technologies,” helium said.

An important realisation is that AI roles volition widen to non-technology roles, helium added. “We volition request radical with skills successful areas specified arsenic quality resources, income and governance to successfully standard these systems and businesses to harness the imaginable successful beforehand of us.”