Victorian government boosts IT jobs base

The Victorian government will create 500 new jobs under an agreement with the IT service delivery provider, SMS Management Technology in Melbourne.

Minister for Technology, Gordon Rich-Phillips, said this locally-headquartered publicly-listed Australian firm will create the jobs in Victoria over the next five years, tapping into the ICT skills base across the state.

Victoria’s job creation effort is supported by strong economic performance, including by a stable triple AAA credit rating, Rich-Phillips said. With record budget surpluses, the state is investing $27 billion on infrastructure programs.

Supporting a technology hub

SMS plans for Victoria join a succession of “technology wins” for the Coalition government, Rich-Phillips said.

Other ICT companies with expanded operations in Victoria include SAP, Capgemini, Web Marketing Experts and Zendesk; US companies like Lockheed Martin, IBM, Hightail and Equinix, and India’s Dexler, Infotech and Servion Global Solutions.

“All these companies are now in Victoria creating high-skilled technology jobs,” Rich-Phillips said.

The Coalition government has earmarked more than $1.4 billion into new ICT and technology-related investments. These initiatives support more than 5,500 technology jobs across different sectors.

The SMS Management Technology announcement is part of the Napthine government’s “Victorian Jobs in the 21st Century” action plan. This factors in a $33 billion initiative to create 200,000 jobs and provide training for up to 850,000 Victorians.

Tom Stianos, SMS Management Technology’s CEO, said this company is committed to promoting local talent and growing the ICT industry base.

“Over the next five years, we plan to hire more than 1,000 staff nationally. Victoria, being our largest region, should account for around half of this activity,” he said.

Key growth areas are led by “customer-facing capabilities, including the design and delivery of digitally-enabled services, he said.

These services leverage mobility, cloud and managed services platforms and are also driving the Victorian government’s digital-first service delivery programs.

Follow Shahida Sweeney on Twitter: @ShahidaSweeney

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