CQU has welcomed Premier Beattie's recent focus on the looming IT skills crisis, saying it should help convince students choose viable career paths.

The University's Informatics Dean Associate Professor Kevin Tickle said the Premier's acknowledgement of the looming shortage meant students should have no qualms about striving towards IT and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) careers.

"Due to education lead-times, there will still be a shortage in three years," he said.

Associate Professor Tickle said CQU was now Australia's largest provider of ICT education in terms of tertiary student numbers and had introduced a 'Co-op' degree option enabling students to gain paid employment as part of their program.

Premier Beattie has told an Australian Computer Society lunch in Brisbane (Nov 9) that "a shortage of skilled workers" in the sector was a serious problem for the state, with low unemployment making it harder for companies to hire.

"We've got to encourage more young people into an industry which, after all, is skilled, well paid and likely to continue to grow strongly," he said. "At a time when demand for ICT skills has rarely been higher, fewer young Australians are enrolling in such courses at university." Mr Beattie said a national summit - which he is proposing to hold in Brisbane - should discuss the issue next year. "The problem is national, indeed, the Queensland ICT sector has fared better in recent years than its interstate counterparts," he said. "These are matters of concern to the industry, to the Queensland Government and, ultimately, to our society as a whole." A survey of 1300 IT companies - tabled in state Parliament on November 9 - shows the Queensland IT industry employs 62,500 people in 4360 firms, the majority with less than five employees. The industry generated $21.1 billion in sales, including $878 million in export income, and spent $800 million in research and development. ENDS For details call Associate Professor Tickle via 4930 9498 or 0407 673 337 or k.tickle@cqu.edu.au or Mike Gregory via 4930 9485 or m.gregory@cqu.edu.au