Employment opportunities in venture capital-backed businesses grew by 35% in the six months to December 31, according to private capital industry association the Australian Investment Council (AIC).
The AIC’s latest Future Jobs Barometer survey recorded 5,331 job vacancies advertised by portfolio companies of eight of Australia’s most active venture capital firms in the second half of 2021. That was up from 3,952 in the first half.
Announcing the figures on 23 March, the AIC noted that jobs demand in venture capital-backed businesses was a reliable indicator of future skills demand. Job advertisements in the latest period highlighted the need for software engineers with experience in building cloud computing systems. A total of 1,446 jobs called for this experience, up 27% from 939 in the prior period.
AIC chief executive Yasser El-Ansary said: “Cloud-based infrastructure has impacted businesses, governments and educational institutions across every corner of the domestic economy through facilitating improved business capabilities, productivity and customer experiences.
“As Australia continues to transition into a knowledge-based economy, cloud technology will be the keystone for driving innovation through unlocking future technologies ranging from robotics and machine learning to artificial intelligence and the internet of things (IoT).”
El-Ansary said the survey showed how the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide demand for skills had influenced businesses in altering employment policies and recruitment practices. The Future Jobs Barometer found that 12% of jobs were offered with remote working options, either in Australia or overseas.
Cyber security entered the top five employment sectors for the first time since the Barometer was launched in June 2020. Clean energy expertise also emerged as a category to watch for the future with 38 jobs advertised. Demand for sales and marketing skills remained strong, illustrating that technology companies appreciated they were commercialising in competitive markets.
New entrants to the top ten companies seeking staff, in the latest half-year, were Australian-founded cybersecurity company UpGuard, with 110 job advertisements, and US-based real time weather forecaster Tomorrow.io, with 67.
As a sector, fintech continued to account for about half of the total advertised jobs with 2,685. These were dominated by payment platforms company Stripe with 2,086 jobs.
Information technology and software as a service (SaaS) accounted for 914 positions while cyber security increased to 200 jobs.
Other top ten job companies seeking staff included Canva (456), Airwallex (357) and Property Guru (110).
The eight venture capital firms covered in the survey represent about a third of the total Australian venture capital ecosystem.