ICT Operations and Support

Overview

This page provides information and data on the ICT Operations and Support sector, which is one component of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry. The ICT industry is fairly broad and encompasses a variety of businesses and sub-sectors such as those that provide information technology (IT) products and services, retail IT, helpdesk, telecommunication services and other professional ICT services. ICT Operations and Support includes areas related to processing, manipulating and managing information and providing user support for software, hardware and cloud technologies.

Vocational education and training (VET) is required in the ICT Operations and Support sector for occupations such as:

Database and Systems Administrators, and ICT Security Specialists
Computer Network Professionals
ICT Support Technicians
Keyboard Operators
ICT Business and Systems Analysts.

Nationally recognised training for ICT Operations and Support is delivered under the ICT – Information and Communications Technology Training Package.

For information on other ICT sub-sectors, see Digital Media, ICT Networks, Programming Software and Web Development and Telecommunications Technology,

All data sources are available at the end of the page.

Employment snapshot

After a slight decrease in employment levels between 2002 and 2005, employment in the Computer System Design and Related Services industry group has more than tripled since 2005 to 328,900 in 2022, with a projected increase to 342,900 by 2025.

Employment levels for Keyboard Operators declined by almost a quarter (24%) between 2002 and 2005, then increased until 2008, before decreasing again between 2008 and 2015. Employment levels have fluctuated slightly since then, with a level of 57,000 reported in 2022. They are projected to decline to 45,800 by 2026.

Employment for Database and Systems Administrators and ICT Security Specialists has slowly increased since 2002 with minor fluctuations to reach 61,400 in 2022. Employment is projected to increase substantially by 2026, up to 104,000. Employment for ICT Support Technicians has more than doubled since 2002 reaching 75,600 in 2022, and is also projected to increase by a quarter to 94,200 by 2026.

Employment for ICT Support and Test Engineers rose between 2002 and 2008, and more than doubled in 2009. Employment levels have fluctuated since then, rising since 2018 to peak at 17,800 in 2022. A slight decrease is projected by 2026, down to 15,700.

Within the Computer System Design and Related Services industry groups, Software and Applications Programmers make up the largest proportion of the total workforce (about 23%) and are projected to have the strongest employment growth by 2026. ICT Managers currently constitute the second largest occupational group at 10% followed by ICT Support Technicians with just over 7%, and employment level growth is projected for both (at 18% and 17% respectively). Both Computer Network Professionals and ICT Professionals (not further defined) are also expected to have strong employment growth of about one fifth by 2026 (22% and 20% respectively).

Training trends

Qualification level
Qualification clusters
Qualification occupation

Training provider type
Funding source

Student location
Training delivery location

Commencements and completions
Qualification level and occupation
State and territory

Training snapshot

In 2021 there were approximately 40,120 program enrolments and 11,660 program completions in ICT Operations and Support qualifications representing a decline since 2017.

The highest numbers of enrolments in 2021 were at the certificate III (14,510) and diploma or higher (8,110) levels, with fewest enrolments at the certificate IV level (3,900). The majority of program enrolments were in Information, Digital Media & Technology qualifications (70%), and over a quarter were in Information Technology qualifications (28%).

There are a wide range of intended occupations from ICT Operations and Support related qualifications, with the most common in 2021 being ICT Support Technicians and Keyboard Operators.

TAFE institutes (40%) and private training providers (34%) delivered the majority of training in ICT Operations and Support related qualifications in 2021, with a further 23% of training delivered in schools. Over two-thirds of program enrolments (70%) were government funded, followed by international fee for service arrangements (18%) and domestic fee-for-service arrangements (13%).

Almost half of enrolments during 2021 were for students located in either Queensland (24%) or New South Wales (24%), followed by overseas (17%) and Victoria (15%). Approximately one third of training was delivered in New South Wales (37%), followed by Queensland (24%), Victoria (17%) and Western Australia (10%).

Both apprenticeship and traineeship commencements and completions trended downwards over the period of 2012 to 2020 before increasing in 2021. Most apprentices and trainees in training during 2021 had intended occupations of either ICT Support Technician or ICT Customer Support Officer. The largest proportions of apprentices and trainees in training were reported by New South Wales (25%), Queensland (22%), and Victoria (19%).

For more data specific to your occupation, industry group or training package, visit NCVER’s Data Builder.

For more data specific to your region visit NCVER’s Atlas of Total VET.

If you are interested in extracting NCVER data to construct tables with data relevant to you, sign up for a VOCSTATS account.

Industry insights

Deloitte Access Economics report ACS Australia’s Digital Pulse 2022: unlocking the tech sector: beyond one million forecasts the number of technology workers in Australia will pass 1 million in 2024 and continue to grow to over 1.2 million technology workers in Australia by 2027. Nearly half of this growth is forecast to occur in ICT technical and professional roles, while a further 38% of growth is expected to occur in ICT management and operations and support roles.

According to AIIA Survey: Digital State of the Nation 2021 the rise in interest in cyber security skills and Cloud Specific skills is particularly strong in the industry, and reflects the emerging interest in sovereign data capabilities and the continuing migration to Cloud based computing and data storage.

This view is supported by Information and Communications Technology Industry Snapshot, which suggests demand is growing for software engineers and developers and in cloud computing and cyber security. With over half of Australia’s ICT workers employed outside of the ICT industry, demand is also high for occupations that integrate ICT systems and processes with broader business. Skills or labour gaps have been identified by industry in a number of areas including ‘full-stack’ development and UX (user experience).

For industry insights on skills needs and job vacancy data, see the Information and Communications Technology industry cluster page.

Links and resources

Below is a list of industry-relevant organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.

IRC and skills forecasts

Information and Communications Technology Industry Reference Committee

Relevant research

ACS Australia’s Digital Pulse 2022: unlocking the tech sector: beyond one million - Deloitte Access Economics

AIIA Survey: Digital State of the Nation 2021 - Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA)

Information and Communications Technology Industry Snapshot - FutureNow Creative and Leisure Industries Training Council

Data sources and notes

Department of Employment 2021, Employment Projections, available from the Labour Market Information Portal

by ANZSIC 3 digit 700 Computer System Design and Related Services Industry, employment projections to May 2025

National Skills Commission 2022, Occupation Employment Projections viewed 10 August 2022, https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/topics/employment-projections

by ANZSCO, selected occupations, employment projections to May 2026
- 2621 Database and Systems Administrators, and ICT Security Specialists
- 2632 ICT Support and Test Engineers
- 3131 ICT Support Technicians
- 5321 Keyboard Operators
- 2613 Software and Applications Programmers
- 1351 ICT Managers
- 2600 ICT Professionals (nfd)
- 2631 Computer Network Professionals.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2022, 6291.0.55.001 - EQ06 - Employed persons by Industry group of main job (ANZSIC), Sex, State and Territory, November 1984 onwards, viewed 1 August 2022. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/may-2022

Employed total by ANZSIC 3 digit 700 Computer System Design and Related Services Industry, 2002 to 2022, May Quarter.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2022, 6291.0.55.001 - EQ08 - Employed persons by Occupation unit group of main job (ANZSCO), Sex, State and Territory, August 1986 onwards, viewed 1 August 2022, https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/may-2022

Employed total by ANZSCO, 2002 to 2022, May Quarter
- 2621 Database and Systems Administrators, and ICT Security Specialists
- 2632 ICT Support and Test Engineers
- 3131 ICT Support Technicians
- 5321 Keyboard Operators.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017, 2016 Census – employment, income and unpaid work, TableBuilder. Findings based on use of ABS TableBuilder data.

Employment level by 3 digit 700 Computer System Design and Related Services Industry, and 4 digit level occupations to identify the relevant VET-related occupations in the industry as a proportion of the total workforce.

Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET students and courses from the following training package or qualifications:

ICT Information and Communications Technology Training Package
Business & Management
- ICA50205 - Diploma of Information Technology (Project Management)
- ICA60311 - Advanced Diploma of Information Technology Business Analysis
- ICA60411 - Advanced Diploma of Information Technology Project Management
- ICT60315 - Advanced Diploma of Information Technology Business Analysis
- ICT60415 - Advanced Diploma of Information Technology Project Management
- ICT80115 - Graduate Certificate in Information Technology and Strategic Management
Information Technology
- ICA10101 - Certificate I in Information Technology
- ICA10105 - Certificate I in Information Technology
- ICA20105 - Certificate II in Information Technology
- ICA30299 – Certificate III in Information Technology (General)
- ICA40105 - Certificate IV in Information Technology (General)
- ICA40111 - Certificate IV in Information Technology
- ICA40205 - Certificate IV in Information Technology (Support)
- ICA40211 - Certificate IV in Information Technology Support
- ICA40599 – Certificate IV in Information Technology (Technical Support)
- ICA40605 – Certificate IV in Information Technology (Testing)
- ICA40611 - Certificate IV in Information Technology Testing
- ICA50105 - Diploma of Information Technology (General)
- ICA50111 - Diploma of Information Technology
- ICA50805 - Diploma of Information Technology (Systems Analysis and Design)
- ICA60105 - Advanced Diploma of Information Technology
- ICA60111 - Advanced Diploma of Information Technology
- ICA70211 - Graduate Certificate in Information Technology Sustainability
- ICT40115 - Certificate IV in Information Technology
- ICT40118 - Certificate IV in Information Technology
- ICT40120 – Certificate IV in Information Technology
- ICT40215 - Certificate IV in Information Technology Support
- ICT40615 - Certificate IV in Information Technology Testing
- ICT50115 - Diploma of Information Technology
- ICT50118 - Diploma of Information Technology
- ICT50120 – Diploma of Information Technology
- ICT50220 – Diploma of Information Technology
- ICT60115 - Advanced Diploma of Information Technology
- ICT60120 – Advanced Diploma of Information Technology
- ICT60220 – Advanced Diploma of Information Technology
- ICT80215 - Graduate Certificate in Information Technology Sustainability
Information, Digital Media & Technology
- ICA10111 - Certificate I in Information, Digital Media and Technology
- ICA20111 - Certificate II in Information, Digital Media and Technology
- ICA30111 - Certificate III in Information, Digital Media and Technology
- ICT10115 - Certificate I in Information, Digital Media and Technology
- ICT20115 - Certificate II in Information, Digital Media and Technology
- ICT20120 – Certificate II in Applied Digital Technologies
- ICT30115 - Certificate III in Information, Digital Media and Technology
- ICT30118 - Certificate III in Information, Digital Media and Technology
- ICT30120 – Certificate III in Information Technology
Systems Analysis & Administration, Database Design & Development
- ICA40705 – Certificate IV in Information Technology (Systems Analysis and Design)
- ICA40711 - Certificate IV in Systems Analysis and Design
- ICA50305 - Diploma of Information Technology (Systems Administration)
- ICA50311 - Diploma of Information Technology Systems Administration
- ICA50505 - Diploma of Information Technology (Database Design and Development)
- ICA50511 - Diploma of Database Design and Development
- ICA50811 - Diploma of Systems Analysis and Design
- ICT40715 - Certificate IV in Systems Analysis and Design
- ICT50315 - Diploma of Information Technology Systems Administration
- ICT50318 - Diploma of Information Technology Systems Administration
- ICT50515 - Diploma of Database Design and Development
- ICT50815 - Diploma of Systems Analysis and Design
- ICT50818 - Diploma of Systems Analysis and Design.

This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.

Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:

2017 to 2021 program enrolments
2017 to 2021 program completions
2021 subject enrolments.

Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Location data uses student residence. Subject enrolment is registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions, please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.

Low counts (less than 5) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.

Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. This can lead to situations where the total sum of proportions in a chart may not add up to exactly 100%.

ICT Information and Communications Technology Training Package apprentice and trainee data has been extracted from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, including:

2012 to 2021 commencements
2012 to 2021 completions
apprentices and trainees in-training October to December 2021 collection, by qualification and state and territory of data submitter.

Updated: 27 Oct 2022