How a ‘technology optimist’ wants to inspire young people | technology, experience | ‘Every kid in this country has the right to dream of getting a good job': Chair of the Technology Council of Australia Robyn Denholm wants to inspire the... | By ABC News | Facebook | Every kid in this country has the right to dream of getting a good job but today not enough kids understand that good jobs they could have or how to get them where they live what their family and friends do whether they are a person with a disability all of these factors much more than the person's potential or aptitude determine what kids in Australia get to be when they grow up I believe we need to give every high school kid in Australia the ability to imagine themselves working in a good job. We need to help them find out that these jobs are while they are still in school and before they are making choices about work and further study. We need to let them try these jobs see for themselves what they are capable of rather than leaving their career choice to the lottery of their life circumstances. Work experience is one of the key ways people try to outjobs to see if they fit. But traditional physically based work experience can exclude a lot of people particularly people with a disability. People in regional Australia and kids from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. By creating a virtual experience platform we can give every high school student the chance to simulate what it's like to work in top tech careers such as use it design, software engineering, data science, cyber security and product management and to support early stage talent pathways. We will make sure that the platform is accessible including for people with disabilities and for those with more limited IT and internet access. This initiative can help kids around the country imagine what a good job looks like in the 21st century and to gain the confidence that they are capable of working in one irrespective of their starting point in life. The second pillar is fixing the skilled migration system. Our biggest shortages in tech workforce today are the highly technical and experienced roles that take considerable years to develop. Even if Australia was producing enough uni and VET graduates which were not we wouldn't be able to immediately fill these roles. These short constrain the growth of all companies not just tech companies and they are also prevent us from hiring more Australians into entry level jobs that need supervision coaching and training I view these highly skilled migrants as part of the seeds that we need to plant in order for us to grow higher skills in the technology sector overall. The final pillar is improving the participation of underrepresented groups in tech jobs and in particular women. This is an issue especially close to my heart and it is why it was important to be here with women in media as champions for female representation. Today only one in four women oops sorry one in four working in tech jobs in Australia are women. We must do better. As my story shows women can excel in the technology industry and when they do, they enjoy exceptional careers. Increasing women's workforce participation and reducing the gender pay gap should be a pressing business priority for all Australians. Getting more women into tech will help to achieve these goals. Women working in tech jobs in Australia have half the gender pay gap of other high-paying professions. Tech jobs the highest rates of remote working in the economy and some of the greatest job security. Twice as many women in tech jobs enter after the age of 25 than before the age of 25 and I was one of them. I am and have always been a technology optimist. Outside of the McAnation of politics surrounding climate change. The fact is that companies and communities across the world including right here in Australia are deliberately working on innovative ways to decarbonize. This creates an acute opportunity for technologies that enable this transition. I believe Australia should be at the forefront of this effort with technology driving both decarbonization and also providing new export income. But in order for us to achieve our full potential as both a country and a global citizen we need more people across Australia to be inspired by the opportunities that tech based jobs offer and choosing to work in them. So why should Australians aspire to work in tech? For me the answer is simple. Tech jobs help us solve the most complex problems of our time. Tech jobs are also the twenty-first centuries version of a good and decent job. In the same way that manufacturing was a mainstay of Australia's economy in the 20th century. Tech jobs have grown at close to double the rate of average jobs growth in the economy since two thousand and five. And are now equivalent to Australia's seventh biggest employer. In fact, there are more software engineers and developers in Australia than there are solicitors, plumbers, or hairdressers. The challenge is that not enough Australians know how to take advantage of this opportunity and in particular, not enough Australians know tech jobs actually exist and not enough Australians have the meaningful training pathways into these jobs. This is contributing to still to skill shortages in tech jobs across industries. Limiting Australia's labor market mobility and constraining economic growth of our country.