There has been a lot of talk of digital disruption and Australia embracing the jobs of the future since the Turnbull government swore in its new-look ministry last week.
It takes me back to the heady days of 1999 and dotcom mania, which I observed on the frontline as a technology editor. Hundreds of millions of dollars surged through venture capital funds and were multiplied on the stock market. Sneaker-clad programmers were the coolest kids in town. And the richest. Teenagers ran companies employing hundreds of staff during their school lunch break. Not joking. They did.
Technology in school is important, but it has to lead to quality Australian IT jobs.Credit: Yuri Arcurs
It ended in tears when the tech bubble burst in 2001. The twenty-something CEOs grew up too fast when faced with the awful task of sacking hundreds of staff.
I don't want to rain on the parade of optimism about the ability of the digital economy to create new Australian jobs to replace the downturn in the resources sector, but here's a reality check. On television this week claims have been thrown around by young Australian software company execs that a decade ago the IT industry in Australia didn't exist, and they want to recruit overseas staff on 457 visas. Other companies have been quick to jump in and call for the government to make it easier to hire 457 staff.
How does this create the digital jobs of the future for Australians? It doesn't. The latest data on 457 visa grants in 2015 shows developer programmers are the single largest occupation being granted visas (up 39.5 per cent). The biggest location is NSW. The biggest country of origin is India (34.3 per cent). Across IT and telecommunications, visa grants have risen 21 per cent, with two-thirds working in NSW.
The data reinforces what is known anecdotally in the IT industry that huge swaths of jobs have been outsourced to Indian consulting companies who bring in programmers prepared to live in bunk-bed accommodation. This is undercutting local wages and is a disincentive for young people to study IT.
This is fundamentally different to the conditions that created the dotcom boom in Australia. Back then, studying IT led to a well-paid job. Buoyant coders had big dreams and teamed up with business partners in their chase to create the next big thing. But they often had a real IT job to fall back on and pay the bills for their start-up. Entrepreneurial tech businesses were nimble because they had a room full of smart programmers who burnt the midnight oil - in the same room, and same time zone - cross-fertilising ideas.
After the dotcom bust in 2001, local investors dried up. Good tech start-ups withered on the vine. This is now changing, and there is talk of a second boom, although the serious money still appears to be found offshore. The serial entrepreneur is the real success story of the tech industry.
So sure, encourage the Australian tech entrepeneurs who fled overseas to come home with tax incentives on employee share schemes. Create the conditions to grow another crop here. Technology in school is important. But it has to lead to quality Australian IT jobs. Jobs to fall back on, as the digital entrepreneur tries again and again to build the killer app.