Communications minister Stephen Conroy today launched the second ever National ICT Careers Week, touting that now is the perfect time to begin an ICT career.
Conroy told the audience: "ICT professionals are an important national resource as an increasing number of everyday economic and social activities are enabled by the internet and other networks. They are a vital foundation for our national digital economy."
The Minister also discussed the employment opportunities in the sector, which the National Broadband Network (NBN) is expected to generate.
Google Australia also today announced a Google Student Day competition, which will give 40 students and their parents the opportunity to have a tour at Google’s new Sydney office.
"Students choosing careers today have so many exciting options in technology and we hope to inspire some of those choices through Google Student Day," Google engineering director Alan Noble said.
The ACS, which organised the week, and research centre National ICT Australia (NICTA) also marked the launch, announcing a National ICT Prize for high school students whereby students in years 10 to 12 will have the chance to win $5000 and an internship with NICTA.
“Offering school students the opportunity to contribute to dynamic, world-class ICT research projects is a powerful way to engage them with tertiary-level ICT study and participation in the digital economy,” NICTA’s education director, Dr Tim Hesketh said.
The results of a survey released last week revealed that IT is the most popular pick for a career amongst Australian teenagers, beating jobs in design and acting.
About 60 events will take place across Australia during the week.