ICT Jobs and Productivity

This month brings some further thoughts on ICT jobs and productivity from a range of Public and Private Sector gurus.

An 18 July 2018 report in The Mandarin  The future of work: is it something completely different?

gives the text of a speech by the Productivity Commission’s Deputy Chair, Karen Chester, to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) WA on July 17, 2018 in Perth. The speech asks and answers some interesting questions, such as the “Productivity Paradox”,  why productivity is low in the “New Digital Economy (which encompasses mobile technology, ubiquitous access to the internet and the world of the cloud)”

Other key questions and answers include:

• Are we getting better at assisting transitioning workers?
• Are the right incentives in place to get the workers to the new jobs?
• Is our education and training system fit for purpose for the workers of today and tomorrow?
• Do current policy settings constrain us getting to and through the “installation phase” and on to realising benefits in the “deployment phase” of the digital economy? 

Another report in The Mandarin, by  Harley Dennett on 12 July 2018, notes that

 “An early taste of the feedback to the APS review has flagged the erosion of both core and specialist skills, crumbling and impersonal services, and a lack of alternatives when these services don’t meet individual needs.”

See What happened to the skills? APS review hears all about the view from the bottom

A 2 July 2018 article in The Conversation, Employment services aren’t working for older jobseekers, jobactive staff or employers notes that

“While the mature-age unemployment rate is low compared to youth unemployment, older people are more likely to remain unemployed. The low rate of Newstart Allowance means they are doing it tough. Our two-year study, Enhancing employment services for mature-age jobseekers, suggests government-funded employment services are not working well for these older jobseekers, the services’ staff or employers”

And there is also a contribution by Elon Musk, via an 18 April 2018 CNBC article, Elon Musk’s 6 productivity rules, including walk out of meetings that waste your time,  by Catherine Clifford.

The article notes:

“Elon Musk is running electric vehicle company Tesla, aerospace company SpaceX and tunneling venture The Boring Company.

He’s even been sleeping at the Tesla factory to ensure ramped up production of his Model 3 electric car.

The CEO has a lot going on.

As it turns out, Musk has some ruthless productivity tricks, and he shared them in a letter to Tesla employees on Tuesday.”

The article lists “Musk’s six tips” and includes a CNBC video clip of Elon Musk personally responding to his customers’ questions and complaints.