APAC | Tech Skills Gap 2022
How Can a Career Change Close the Tech Skills Gap Across APAC?
Last year, AWS released results from a study conducted by AlphaBeta that predicted Australia will need an additional 6.5 million newly skilled and reskilled digital workers by 2025, an increase of 79%. The region continues to expand its use of technology to innovate in the rapidly growing digital economy and is creating a wealth of opportunities for anyone to make a career change in tech.
Regardless of your technical background or recent experience, many online training courses can get you career-ready in cyber, coding, data, cloud, or project management.
The allure of flexible working and a lucrative salary is usually the biggest attraction of pursuing a tech career. However, the most critical factor is finding an area in the industry that you genuinely love and enjoy.
But where do you start?
Cyber security
Cyber security breaches are an increasing threat to every business across all industries. With a rise in hacking, data breaches, and ransomware attacks, the demand for cyber security analysts, network security engineers, and certified ethical hackers is outstripping the supply. This massive shortage of skills is creating a wave of opportunities for anyone that wants to make a difference and play a critical role in protecting their entire organisation.
As traditional job roles get replaced by automation, our news feeds have featured many stories warning of an uncertain future. But did you know that the tech industry recently hit an incredible 0% unemployment rate? Or that Asia Pacific countries are in desperate need of more cybersecurity experts. Although it has never been a better time to switch to a new career in tech, the only thing holding people back is themselves.
There is a myth that only maths geniuses with a photographic memory who enjoy staring at screens and writing code are suited to a career in tech. The reality is that anyone can learn to become a cyber security expert with a keen interest and a few hours a week to focus on their study. An excellent cyber security student is usually a creative and collaborative individual with a curious mind who enjoys learning new ways to defend a business against new types of cyber threats.
There are also many different areas of cybersecurity for students to specialise in, depending on their area of interest. For example, you play a pivotal role in protecting networks or PenTest devices in new environments, including the cloud, mobile, and traditional desktops or servers. Alternatively, If you explore the world of ethical hacking, your job consists of looking for the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in target systems.
Whether you have your sights set on becoming a cyber security professional or even a project manager responsible for implementing new solutions, the only limit is your imagination. With a lucrative salary of more than $100,000 per year for entry-level positions and experienced workers making up to $159,000 a year, it’s never been a better time to be a part of closing the digital skills gap to secure a role in cyber security.
Coding
Our homes are increasingly filled with smart devices and appliances. But if you dare to take a peek behind the curtain, you will find an operating system and coded set of instructions responsible for providing us with the experiences we expect from our tech. Moreover, if you enjoy understanding how things work, a career in software development will put you at the heart of building programs that solve tomorrow’s problems.
Although there are over 698 different languages, the two most popular coding languages in the highest demand by employers are Python and Java. The options for your software development career are almost limitless. For example, frontend and backend developers will focus on creating and maintaining websites and web applications. In contrast, others will be more attracted to using code to help bring ideas that change the world to life.
Becoming job-ready has been made much easier with our Code+ Collection, where you’ll learn front and back end development, Agile project management, software testing, and scrum methodologies. With an average salary of more than $80,000 a year for full stack developers, it’s easy to see why so many students are leaving old careers behind and switching to coding.
Once you’ve mastered the essential coding languages and their uses, further advancing tools for the trade are available by way of Agile for software development. Helping you to accommodate the ever-changing requirements of software development and gain the critical skills and knowledge required to embrace an Agile mindset. The Agile for software development course takes you from a grass roots level of Agile awareness by exploring Agile fundamentals and Scrum Methodology, up to DevOps for Agile, helping you lead in software development and make well-informed business decisions.
Project Management
Every business is currently challenged with delivering a growing number of technical projects that will play a crucial role in meeting their customers’ evolving needs and expectations. Unsurprisingly, a recent report revealed that APAC will need 2 Million project managers by 2030, requiring every business to begin building a culture of continuous learning.
Internally, many businesses will be forced to invest in empowering employees who possess business acumen and thrive in collaborative leadership to help them become project managers. The alternative of searching for additional staff in a market where skills are in short supply could be costly compared to the cost of project management courses.
With Project managers being in high demand throughout the world across every industry, many are taking control and developing the relevant skills to help pave the way for a lucrative salary in project management. Ultimately, projects and the changemakers behind those projects are crucial to every business and industry.
In IT, project managers play a critical role in helping a business protect its infrastructure, applications, and data with the implementation of new solutions. They will also work closely with key stakeholders to deliver essential projects on time. Data-driven project managers will also leverage BI and BA tools to manage resources, risks, and efficiencies throughout the project.
The PRINCE2® certifications are regarded as imperative for a career in project management. The PRINCE2® methodology is also used in both the public and private sectors. In addition, the average salary for a project manager in Australia is currently more than $124,000. But PMP-certified PMs earn around 22% higher wages than those without the qualification. So rather than resisting change, a career in project management can empower you to own by being a changemaker that helps a business grow and innovate.
Data
1.145 trillion megabytes of data are created every day. All of which are sorted, categorised, analysed, and used to inform business decisions. The biggest asset in every organisation is data. Unlocking valuable insights from the data architecture through statistics and analysis is becoming table-stakes for leaders.
The explosion of data over the last few years means that traditional data analysis methods are no longer fit for purpose, so it’s now typically split into unstructured, semi-structured, and structured data types. Working behind the scenes, teams collate information that can change how businesses operate by uncovering a competitive advantage or identifying untapped opportunities. Ultimately, big data holds the keys to the growth and development of companies.
A career in big data also offers an attractive average salary of around 121,000 per year, and achieving the required qualifications is much easier than many imagine. Data science leverages a slightly different skill set that includes mathematics, programming, and data cleansing techniques. This more scientific approach will also involve using algorithms and machine learning to help identify hidden patterns inside raw data.
A professional data engineer will empower businesses to make data-driven decisions by collecting, transforming, and visualising data. Behind the scenes, you will be at the heart of the security, reliability, scalability, and efficiency of the systems that make all this possible. Many of our students also choose to specialise and embark on a journey to becoming a Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate with a six-figure salary and enviable job title as their ultimate goal.
The typical path for people switching careers is to begin as a data analyst and work their way up to a data scientist role. But a combination of your unique area of interest combined with our expert mentorship will help guide you through what is the right path for you and your new career in data.
Cloud
In a world of hybrid working, the cloud makes it possible for critical applications to be accessed wherever an employee can find an internet connection. The ability to increase operational agility and securely enable remote working while improving disaster recovery is just a few reasons many businesses have migrated away from the in-house data centres.
Unsurprisingly, 94% of businesses have already embraced cloud services. But it’s cloud specialists and engineers who are responsible for bridging the gap in worldwide collaboration and communication. As a result, the demand for qualified tech talent in one of the fastest-growing industries continues to move at breakneck speed. This creates opportunities for anyone who wants to develop their existing cloud skills or pursue a new career. But what does the job entail?
Cloud computing specialists are tasked with creating and maintaining secure environments for corporate data on cloud servers. In addition, they are often responsible for the safe transition of data from in-house servers to the cloud and even protecting information from being exploited by hackers. Although there are many different solutions and services for businesses, the most in-demand cloud skills are around three providers which are also the most prominent names in big tech.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) supplies nearly a third of all cloud computing services to online companies. If AWS suffered an outage, many analysts believe it could be the closest thing to the world going offline. With so much at stake, demand for its cloud skills continues to outpace supply with three main career paths for any wannabe cloud Architect, Developer, or Systems Administrator up for grabs.
The AWS cloud collection was designed to provide students with everything they need to prepare to enter the cloud job market and secure the incredibly cool job title of an Amazon Web Services (AWS) specialist. Considering the average salary of an entry-level cloud administrator is $86,000, and a senior cloud architect enjoys an average salary of $240,000, the rewards for hard work and dedication are easy for anyone to see.
Microsoft Azure is another cloud computing service hugely popular with enterprises with a long history of trusting everything from the software giant. A Microsoft-certified professional will be comfortable building, testing, deploying, and managing applications and services through any Microsoft-managed data centre. If this is something that interests you, the Microsoft cloud collection will provide you with access to 3 new career paths; Architect, Designer, or Data Scientist.
If you are exploring how to enter the cloud industry and the tech job market as an Azure specialist to secure a lucrative salary and career of your dreams, your opportunities are limitless. There is even an opportunity to study for AWS and Microsoft certifications by signing up for our comprehensive cloud collection.
When embarking on a career in cloud computing, it’s easy to overlook Google Cloud. Although most enterprises choose AWS or Azure, many students choose to specialise in a Google Cloud career by becoming a Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect. By honing in on a niche area and becoming a Google certified professional will help you stand out from the crowd and easily secure a healthy salary.
Transitioning into tech
Employers are increasingly looking for a unique set of digital skills that are in short supply. Elsewhere, employees look to future-proof their careers while also securing greater flexibility and a better work-life balance. The last two years’ events have seen a significant increase in people reevaluating their careers while enterprises are rethinking what the future of work will look like.
As the tech talent gap continues to widen, businesses are waking up to the fact that there will be millions of tech positions within the next decade that will need to be filled around the world. Regardless of your background and experience, or even if you consider yourself a non-technical person, a tech career is easily attainable, and there are many options at your disposal. But you might need a little help on where and how to begin your career change.
Do you see yourself embarking on a new career where you are fighting the bad guys and protecting your employers from hackers? Maybe you would like to become a coder that brings ideas that change the world to life or enjoy helping businesses make data-driven decisions. Alternatively, you could play a key role in assisting enterprises to transition to the cloud or implement new projects that make a difference. The only limit is your imagination.
Our team of training and career placement experts will help you explore what type of role appeals to you and what you need to do to make it happen. Your journey is much more than certifications and qualifications. We will help you validate your real-world technical ability so that you secure a dream career in tech and play a pivotal role in solving today’s business challenges. So, what are you waiting for, get in touch today and let us help you realise your potential.