Mark Averill (PwC)
Digital transformation and technology alliances are two of several areas in which PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) New Zealand intends to create more than 500 new roles over the next five years.
The proposed job creation drive comes as part of a global strategy by the company aimed at "responding to fundamental changes in the world," including technological disruption, climate change, fractured geopolitics and the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dubbed 'The New Equation,' the programme was revealed globally by PwC in June, described by the company at the time as "a revolutionary approach in how we see new opportunities to serve clients as they work to build trust and deliver sustained business outcomes."
PwC claims the programme is based on the analysis of global trends and thousands of conversations with clients and stakeholders, and focuses on two interconnected needs that are expected to be faced by its customers in the coming years.
These needs are, specifically, the increasing requirement for companies to build trust, and the ability of organisations to deliver sustained outcomes in an environment where competition and the risk of disruption are more intense than ever, with societal expectations at an all-time high.
As part of global programme, PwC New Zealand is embarking on several commitments, with one of the most visible being the plan to create over 500 roles in New Zealand over the next five years.
These roles will be in a diverse range of areas that PwC claims are critically important to developing a more productive New Zealand. The areas include digital transformation and technology alliances, environmental, social and governance (ESG), Māori business, infrastructure and health reform.
It is expected that the recruitment drive will increase PwC New Zealand's team by 30 per cent.
Moreover, through PwC’s Ignite programme, the firm plans to enable people from diverse backgrounds to build business and technology skills on the job while working towards building certifications across its key alliances.
Meanwhile, PwC plans to upskill its team of more than 1,700 to give them the knowledge, skills and tools needed for the digital future, with the company committing over $8 million across three years to achieve this goal.
The New Equation programme is also expected to accelerate PwC’s growth in the broader Asia Pacific region, with investments of US$3 billion over the next five years to enhance capabilities to support its clients in the region, as part of an ambition to double the size of the business by 2026 and extend its position in the market.
“We are bringing the best of our people, capabilities and technology together to support our clients in building trust and delivering sustained outcomes for their businesses and society,” said PwC New Zealand senior partner and CEO Mark Averill. “To do this effectively, we want to attract a wide range of talented people to our firm and continue to invest in the digital upskilling of our people.
“We are proud that so many people begin their careers at PwC and are committed to continuing to support training and development for a new generation of business leaders,” he added.
PwC's intentions to recruit a new cohort of tech professionals -- among other skills areas -- comes at a time when the local New Zealand IT talent pool appears to be particularly scant.
Indeed, Graeme Muller, CEO of technology industry umbrella group NZTech, has for months been vocally lobbying the government to act on the country's tech skills shortage, which has been greatly exacerbated by border restrictions resulting from the ongoing pandemic.
“We have surveyed hundreds of NZ tech companies to see what we can be done, we have shared the data with the government, shown them the impacts and suggested options, but nothing is being done to address the problem,” Muller said in August.
“In theory, it is simply a case of agreeing that with thousands of open roles, these technical skills are not readily available in New Zealand, using exactly the same logic as they did for vets.
“Meanwhile, the impact is that hundreds of jobs paying well over $100,000 are being shifted out of New Zealand every week and critical digital projects across business and government agencies are not getting done,” he added.
From Muller’s perspective, the government has the solution to solve the problem by allowing essential tech workers into the country, yet borders remain largely closed to outside IT talent as the threat of the ongoing pandemic rolls on.
