This page provides information and data on the Telecommunications Technology sector, which is one component of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry. Telecommunications Technology includes cabling, wireless, switching, transmission, radio frequency, optical communications, media and internet protocol networks. Workers in this sector are likely to either work as contractors or to be embedded in a large telecommunications company. This makes it difficult to accurately describe what this workforce is like at an occupational level.
Vocational education and training (VET) is required in the Telecommunications Technology sector for occupations such as:
Nationally recognised training for Telecommunications Technology is delivered under the ICT – Information and Communications Technology Training Package and ICT10 – Integrated Telecommunications Training Package.
For information on other ICT sectors, see Digital Media, ICT Networks, ICT Operations and Support and Programming Software and Web Development.
Information sourced from the Information and Communications Technology IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast.
All data sources are available at the end of the page.
The Information and Communications Technology IRC was not required to submit an annual update to their 2019 Skills Forecast during 2020. As such, the version published in 2019 remains the most recently published Skills Forecast for this industry.
Information and Communications Technology Industry Reference Committee
Please note: any employment projections outlined below were calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics prior to COVID-19.
The employment level for the Telecommunications Services industry group has been fairly steady overall but increased to its highest level since 2006 in 2018 before falling again in 2019 and 2020. However, employment numbers to 2024 are projected to increase slightly.
The highest proportion of the total workforce in the Telecommunications Services industry group is in the occupation of Telecommunications Trades Workers (almost 13% of the total). This occupation is projected to increase slightly in employment until 2024. For occupations in this industry sub-sector, employment growth projections until 2024 are highest for Telecommunications Engineering Professionals at almost 14%.
Program enrolments in Telecommunications Technology rose between 2015 and 2016 to a high of 15,980 but fell the subsequent year (2017) to 9,530 and again to 3530 in 2019. Program completions in this sector followed a similar pattern, falling from a high of 3,070 in 2016 to 1,010 in 2019. The majority of enrolments in 2019 were at the certificate III level (2,580) compared to 480 at certificate IV level, 330 at diploma level or higher and 140 at certificate II.
In 2019 most enrolments were either in (telecommunications) Technology-related qualifications (3050) or (telecommunications) Network-related qualifications (370). The most common intended occupations for this sector were Electronic Instrument Trades Worker (General) (2,430) or Telecommunications Technical Officer or Technologist (480).
Almost all training in 2019 was conducted via private training providers (86%). Funding for subjects came in the most part from Commonwealth and state funding (68%) and domestic fee-for-service (28%). The majority of students were from New South Wales (33%), Queensland (29%) or Victoria (17%).
Training was mainly delivered in New South Wales (39%), Queensland (32%) and Victoria (21%).
In 2019 there were 960 apprentice and trainee commencements and 580 completions in this sector. Commencement numbers are down from their peak in 2013 of 6,870. Completion numbers were at their highest in 2014 at 4,330.
In 2019, most apprentices and trainees in-training were in (telecommunications) Technology-related qualifications with the intended occupation of Electronic Instrument Trades Worker (General). The highest proportions of apprenticeships and traineeships were reported in New South Wales (45%), Queensland (22%) and Victoria (20%).
For more data specific to your occupation, industry or training package, visit NCVER’s VET students by industry. If you are prompted to log in, select cancel and you will continue to be directed to the program.
For more data specific to your region visit NCVER’s Atlas of Total VET.
If you are interested in extracting NCVER data to construct tables with data relevant to you, sign up for a VOCSTATS account.
For industry insights on skills needs and job vacancy data, see the Information and Communications Technology industry cluster page.
Below is a list of industry-relevant organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Australian Digital and Telecommunications Industry Association
Australian Information Industry Association
Australian Communications and Media Authority
Innovation and Science Australia
National Innovation and Science Agenda
Australian Services Union (Information Technology & Business Equipment)
Department of Employment 2020, Employment Projections, available from the Labour Market Information Portal
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2020, Employed persons by Industry group of main job (ANZSIC), Sex, State and Territory, November 1984 onwards, 6291.0.55.003 - EQ06, viewed 1 August 2020 http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6291.0.55.003May%202020?OpenDocument
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017, 2016 Census – employment, income and unpaid work, TableBuilder. Findings based on use of ABS TableBuilder data.
Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Students and Courses from the following training package or qualifications:
This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.
Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:
Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Location data uses student residence. Subject enrolment is registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions, please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.
Low counts (less than 5) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.
Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. This can lead to situations where the total sum of proportions in a chart may not add up to exactly 100%.
ICT Information and Communications Technology Training Package and ICT10 Integrated Telecommunications Training Package apprentice and trainee data has been extracted from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, including:
