Government and NZTech step up urgency of ambitions for technology sector

Industry body NZTech says ideas in a draft ‘Industry Transformation Plan’ for the digital technologies sector released by the Government could help create vast numbers of new jobs by 2040.

The draft plan, which NZTech helped develop, suggests encouraging the uptake of cloud computing, assisting game developers, and developing a marketing initiative to promote New Zealand technology to foreign customers, investors and skilled migrants.

It also emphasises the need to encourage more people to consider careers in the industry.

Communications Minister David Clark said the plan was designed to put “some flesh on the bones” of the Government’s digital strategy.

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The document said that while the sector had continued to grow in recent years, including through the Covid lockdowns, there were barriers that were “constraining it from reaching its full potential”.

These included “steady and predictable access to skills”, obstacles in government procurement, difficulties in attracting a diverse workforce, and a lack of advice for digital businesses that were aiming to expand.

The Government plans to publish a final ITP “with firm actions and initiatives” later this year, it said.

The draft report said the cloud software market was subject to “first mover” advantage.

“History suggests the window of opportunity for software-as-a-service and interactive media companies to secure market share will be relatively short,” it said.

“Once established in a niche, firms are able to respond quickly to customer demand and expectations. These attributes are resulting in an intensifying global competition for talent and existing businesses.”

NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller said that while not everything discussed in the draft plan might come to fruition, “the shared focus” between the industry and government should accelerate the growth of the sector.

There were 38,000 people working in digital technology firms in 2020 and if the current 7.5 per cent annual compound rate was maintained that would grow to almost 100,000 by 2030, he said.

If the ITP could raise that growth rate to 8.5 per cent and at the same time encourage a more diverse workforce, NZTech calculated that could create vast numbers of new jobs for women, Māori, and Pacific people.

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