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Chief Information Officers

ANZSCO ID 135111

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Overview

Snapshot

Employed
3,800
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
97%
Female Share
10%
Average age
44
About this data

Summary

Chief Information Officers plan, organise, direct, control and coordinate the ICT strategies, plans and operations of organisations to ensure the ICT infrastructure supports the organisation's overall operations and priorities.

Also known as: Chief Technology Officer.

A bachelor degree in information technology or computer science and extensive experience in the ICT industry is usually needed to work as a Chief Information Officer.

Tasks

  • Analyses information needs and specifies technology to meet those needs.

  • Formulates and directs information and communication technology (ICT)strategies, policies and plans.

  • Directs the selection and installation of ICT resources and the provision of user training.

  • Directs ICT operations and sets priorities between system developments, maintenance and operations.

  • Oversees the security of ICT systems.

Characteristics

Job Type
Managers
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
1351 ICT Managers
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
Interests
  • Practical
  • Analytical
  • Administrative
  • Enterprising
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, ICT Managers, under the outlook section.

Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 97% of people employed as Chief Information Officers work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 31 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 49 hours per week in their main job. This is 5 hours more than the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.

Industries

Main industries

1
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
30.9%
2
Financial and Insurance Services
12.4%
3
Information Media and Telecommunications
8.8%
4
Public Administration and Safety
6.3%
5
Other industries
36.7%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

43.1% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

30.5% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

13.3% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

4.0% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

5.8% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

0.6% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.4% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

2.4% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Chief Information Officers All Jobs Average
NSW 43.1 31.6
VIC 30.5 25.6
QLD 13.3 20.0
SA 4.0 7.0
WA 5.8 10.8
TAS 0.6 2.0
NT 0.4 1.0
ACT 2.4 1.9


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
44
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
10%
All Jobs Average is 48%

  • The median age of Chief Information Officers is 44 years. This is higher than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 35 to 44 years.

    Females make up 10% of the workforce. This is 38 percentage points below the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Chief Information Officers All Jobs Average
15-19 0.1 5.0
20-24 0.7 9.3
25-34 12.2 22.9
35-44 40.1 22.0
45-54 34.8 21.6
55-59 8.3 9.0
60-64 2.9 6.0
65 and Over 1.0 4.2
Median Age 44 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.

Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

A bachelor degree in information technology or computer science and extensive experience in the ICT industry is usually needed to work as a Chief Information Officer.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Information and Communications Technology VET training pathways may interest you.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Chief Information Officers All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 29.1 10.1
Bachelor degree 43.6 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 10.8 11.6
Certificate III/IV 3.6 21.1
Year 12 10.7 18.1
Year 11 1.3 4.8
Year 10 and below 0.8 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.

Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for ICT Managers who can communicate clearly to a diverse range of people, and provide leadership, direction and planning.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 63%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 57%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 57%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 57%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 57%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 55%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 55%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 55%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 55%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 55%

    Systems evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

  • 55%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 54%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 54%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 54%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 54%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 50%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 50%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

  • 50%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 48%

    Operations analysis

    Understanding needs and product requirements to create a design.

  • 45%

    Mathematics

    Using maths to solve problems.

Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 88%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 67%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 67%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 62%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 58%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 57%

    Engineering and technology

    Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.

  • 56%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 53%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 52%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 43%

    Technical design

    Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

  • 40%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

  • 36%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 36%

    Geography

    Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.

  • 32%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 31%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.

  • 29%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 25%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 24%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 22%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 20%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 64%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 63%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 63%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 59%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 57%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 57%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 57%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 57%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 54%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 54%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 50%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 50%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 46%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 45%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 45%

    Working with numbers

    Add, subtract, multiply, or divide.

  • 43%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 43%

    Mathematics

    Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.

  • 43%

    Visualization

    Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

  • 41%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 41%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 87%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

  • 86%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 76%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 76%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 75%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 74%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 74%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 74%

    Coordinating the work of a team

    Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.

  • 73%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 73%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 72%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 72%

    Guiding and directing staff

    Guiding and directing staff, including setting and monitoring performance standards.

  • 71%

    Coaching and developing others

    Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.

  • 71%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 69%

    Leading and encouraging a team

    Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

  • 68%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 66%

    Coming up with systems and processes

    Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.

  • 66%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 65%

    Scheduling work and activities

    Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

  • 59%

    Estimating amounts, costs and resources

    Working out sizes, distances, amounts, time, costs, resources, or materials needed for a task.

Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 95%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 76%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 62%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 57%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 24%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 24%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.

  • 93%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 81%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 76%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 76%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 71%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 62%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:

  • 100%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 95%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 95%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 93%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 92%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 92%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 91%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 91%

    Responsible for outcomes

    Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.

  • 90%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 88%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 87%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 81%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 79%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 78%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

  • 76%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 74%

    Consequence of error

    Work where mistakes have serious consequences.

  • 73%

    Competition

    Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.

  • 72%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

  • 67%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 66%

    Conflict situations

    Deal with conflict or disagreements.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 11-3021.00 - Computer and Information Systems Managers.

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