Sep 22, 2026 · 9 min · 9 segments
Targets related to growing the number of tech jobs across the economy become less meaningful as the roll out of AI changes workplace roles, the Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles says. In…
Andrew GilesGuest
Corrie McLeodHost
A few years ago, the Tech Council of Australia had the target of the 1.3 million tech skills, but that was something that the government sort of supported at the time.
Do you think the conversation has changed in the way that we look at those targets and numbers? Be keen for your views on that.
Well, I think as John Maynard Keynes is said to have said, when the facts change, our opinions change.
And obviously, the world today looks very, very different from when the Tech Council was putting that case forward.
I guess what I would say is there are two things that drive my thinking on this.
The first one is the work that Jobs and Skills Australia did 18 or so months ago.
which highlighted something really important to me, that what we are seeing by and large in terms of the impact of AI on jobs to date in Australia is a change in the tasks that may be conceived as being bundled together to generate a job rather than a change in jobs themselves per se.
And that report characterises the impact of AI as largely augmenting rather than eliminating jobs.
Frame number two is to look more recently at the work that Jobs and Skills Council has done to identify where those gaps are and to think about how we can target government policies to work with businesses so that we continue to have this tripartite and industry-led approach to making sure that on the one hand we've got the skills to achieve our national goals and on the other to make sure that Australians aren't being left behind by this.
A few years ago, the Tech Council of Australia had the target of the 1.3 million tech skills, but that was something that the government sort of supported at the time.
Do you think the conversation has changed in the way that we look at those targets and numbers? Be keen for your views on that.
Well, I think as John Maynard Keynes is said to have said, when the facts change, our opinions change.
And obviously, the world today looks very, very different from when the Tech Council was putting that case forward.
I guess what I would say is there are two things that drive my thinking on this.
The first one is the work that Jobs and Skills Australia did 18 or so months ago.
which highlighted something really important to me, that what we are seeing by and large in terms of the impact of AI on jobs to date in Australia is a change in the tasks that may be conceived as being bundled together to generate a job rather than a change in jobs themselves per se.
And that report characterises the impact of AI as largely augmenting rather than eliminating jobs.
Frame number two is to look more recently at the work that Jobs and Skills Council has done to identify where those gaps are and to think about how we can target government policies to work with businesses so that we continue to have this tripartite and industry-led approach to making sure that on the one hand we've got the skills to achieve our national goals and on the other to make sure that Australians aren't being left behind by this.
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