Labour Party - Speeches

NZ Computer Society - Honorary Fellowship and Speech

30.06.2008

It is a huge honour to have this Honorary Fellowship conferred on me by the NZ Computer Society. It epitomises the work of previous ICT Ministers who have gone before me and also the hard work of officials.

Today I have been asked to speak to you briefly about the ‘state' or general ‘health' of the ICT sector, in particular skills gaps, which I know you are keen to hear about given the work NZCS is doing in this area.

Two weeks ago I touched down on home soil after a week spent with the world's best and brightest in IT in Japan and Korea, benchmarking our broadband strategy and comparing our progress in the digital space with other countries.

Two things were clear to me after my time away. Firstly, our digital strategy is on the right track. Secondly we have further work to do to catch up with many other OECD countries.

I'm pleased to report the sector is in good health. The outlook for the future is bright.

The results of our regulatory reforms are already coming to fruition - they are becoming evident in the increased competition in the market and the benefits that consumers are starting to reap.

Separation is now bedding in and opening up opportunities for others in the industry while also guaranteeing Telecom investment in Cabinetisation over the longer term.

The regulatory reforms are working well and we are already seeing results. LLU has increased competition and innovation in the shorter term.

These examples demonstrate that we're now in a space which provides a solid basis for going forward.

The internet generation (gen ‘y') is entering the workforce, bringing new ideas and different values. They will be our future innovators and leaders in the digital space. Boundaries between telecommunications and broadcasting are blurring, and business models are changing.

Last November's Digital Future Summit and the draft affirm that the strategic framework laid out in Digital Strategy 1. The now familiar three ‘Cs' of connection, confidence and content - are still relevant, we have also added a fourth ‘C' - collaboration - to reflect the differing way we must operate to achieve our end goals.

Crucially, these enablers must work together - and the sector and government must collaborate to assist this - if we are to maximise the productivity, community and sustainability benefits of broadband ICT.

Digital Strategy 2.0 reminds us that accelerating broadband rollout is not an end in itself, but a means to broader economic and social outcomes. These outcomes can only be maximised if the human ware and the software is developed alongside the bandwidth and hardware.

Any investment programme that poured billions into fibre but ignored user skills or digital industries would not serve New Zealand well.

Consultation on the Draft Strategy has now been ended and we are working toward an August launch date.

The government has responded to a range of issues, including, skills shortages, in the Draft.

Remember that as we move into the future, ICT will become increasingly important as a driver of our economy, of productivity, environmental sustainability, and our communities.

We need to ensure that ICT can effectively support and influence outcomes for business, environment and our communities.

To do this we must ensure that we have the skills and the right mix of skills to deliver on our plans.

I know that this is an area where the Computer Society has been proactive. I congratulate you on the new certification programme for IT professionals that you have recently launched. This will help to better define the IT profession.

There are growing concerns in most OECD countries about the ability of our education systems to provide the ICT skills needed by the growing knowledge economy activities both in terms of production and consumption.

Statistics from the education sector show that there is an ongoing decline in the number of students starting ICT courses while at the same time demand for ICT skills is growing. The most recent statistics show that graduates from Information Technology courses equate to about half the number of people graduating with health related qualifications and about a fifth of the number of people graduating with BA degrees.

ICT as a profession has not been attractive to young people. This is partly because the profession is not easily defined. It is a fast-changing sector, technologies change and move quickly. The skills that are needed one day differ the next - driven by both development and demand.

We need to focus on ICT skills and challenges and the role that government and industry can play in better defining the skills needed to fill the gaps.

New Zealand has an opportunity to attract skilled labour here in an increasingly mobile workforce by focusing on three key areas; innovation, competitiveness, and employability.

We also need to focus on the three broad areas of ICT skills - the ICT user, practitioner and ebusiness:

ICT user skills for effective application of ICT systems and devices - everyone in New Zealand should have access to have/use these skills;

ICT practitioner skills for researching, developing, designing, managing, producing, consulting, marketing, selling, integrating, installing, administrating, maintaining, supporting and servicing ICT systems - ICT professionals;

ebusiness skills needed to exploit opportunities provided by ICT, notably the internet to ensure more efficient and effective performance of different types of organisations to explore possibilities for new ways of conducting business and organisational processes and to establish new business.

Digital literacy will ensure that users of all ages can use a computer to search for material, communicate with others, keep themselves safe online, and complete other simple digital tasks. These skills need to be spread throughout the community if we are to have a digitally inclusive nation.

Support from industry, business, and sector-led groups is essential to achieving many of the goals we've set ourselves.

Last year I wrote an open letter to sector and business leaders asking for a consideration of options to promote increased levels of investment in broadband infrastructure.

The Broadband Investment Forum, Chaired by Stephen Tindall is an important tool for maintaining dialogue on innovative solutions for addressing the key infrastructure gaps we face.

Last month I launched the Digital Development Council and Forum. I'm pleased that NZCS has thrown its support behind the Forum, bringing an important mix of skills and knowledge to the group.

These bodies will be important in guiding the development and implementation of Digital Strategy 2.0 in keeping with the wishes expressed at the Digital Future Summit last year.

Budget 2008 provided the government's first five-year down-payment for a billion dollar plus 10 year plan which will take New Zealand towards the government's vision of a fast broadband future.

The focus is on providing high-speed connections to high-bandwidth users in a manner that supports future network extensions by all technologies.

The core part of the package is the announcement of the Broadband Investment Fund.

This represents a commitment of over $500m over the next five years. This is an aggressive package that will result in significant private sector investment, will promote infrastructure competition and builds upon the revolutionary regulatory changes we have put in place.

Government and industry representatives need to continue to work together to develop an effective and coordinated approach to defining what digital skills are required by users, decision-makers, practitioners or specialists now and in the future.

We want New Zealand to be a productive, high-income knowledge economy. We want all New Zealanders to have the skills they need to participate effectively in the digital world.

Digital Strategy 2.0 will play a critical role promoting the wide availability and take up of broadband in New Zealand. However, it is not sufficient to secure New Zealand's digital future alone. We need to stimulate demand and make the benefits of being digital flow to all New Zealanders. I call on all of you to help us get there.

Speeches

NZ Computer Society - Honorary Fellowship and Speech

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