Project Auckland: Wanted - More smart technology graduates

Orion chief executive Ian McCrae reckons that schools and universities are not training enough people. Photo / NZME.

Technology and innovation has been targeted as a high-growth sector that will contribute significantly to the national and local economy - particularly Auckland. But the growth spurt has to be supported by a bigger pool of talented IT workers.

New Zealand Technology Industry Association (NZTech) recently surveyed its 100 member companies and they reported a need to hire an additional 10,000 people over the next three years. A majority of those positions would be based in Auckland.

"Technology companies have a substantial and growing need for skilled staff and they have to pull in talent from overseas," says NZTech chief executive officer, Graeme Muller. "If you have a child who wants to get into technology, then he or she is set up for life."

He says skills such as programming have gone past the "geeky" stage and they are now just as important as mathematics. "Students should learn to be creative with technology and it should be part of the schools' curricular because working in the technology sector is a sustainable career."

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare managing director Mike Daniell says it takes at least five or six years to train local young people in the technology field.

The new roles required over the next three years will be largely sourced offshore - or by the most recent graduates. "We are keen to see more technology students coming through the education pipeline. New Zealand has half the number of tech grads, as a proportion of population, compared with other OECD countries."

Muller says NZTech supported initiatives such as attending job fairs to attract talented technology workers to New Zealand. "But we have to educate more of our own people. We have to increase the awareness of technology and the importance it will play in the national economy."

Local technology companies are particularly facing a shortage of software developers. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is sponsoring the VEX Robotics competition in a bid to get more young people interested in software development.

Fisher & Paykel has a research and development (R&D) staff of 400 and it now expects to grow that number by 10 per cent a year. The global heathcare innovator employs about 30 local graduates a year but it will continue to hire talented people from overseas.

Newly-listed Orion Health is planning to double its R&D staff to 700 over the next two years "to try and get a jump on the market". Most of the new R&D staff will be based in Auckland but many will need to be recruited offshore.

Orion chief executive Ian McCrae reckons that the schools and universities are not training enough people and securing top talent was a major challenge.