Our Story

The need for an industry body became clear following a market-sounding study, undertaken by the Sunshine Coast Business Council and RDA Sunshine Coast in 2020. This study aimed to establish the strength of the regional cyber security footprint in the greater Sunshine Coast region, and subsequently the strength of the ICT capacity.

As a result of this study, industry bodies, government and private businesses identified the need and opportunity to achieve above-organic ICT industry growth in the region over the next three years.

This is how the Sunshine Coast Tech Industry Alliance (SCTechIA) came to be, with the priority to build industry capacity; drive local ICT jobs; encourage member collaboration to compete nationally and internationally; and to provide a united voice for the ICT industry in the region.

TThe opportunity for our region is significant.

By 2026, Deloitte Access Economics forecasts there will be over 1.1 million technology workers in Australia, indicating more than 35% growth from 2021. The greater Sunshine Coast region is particularly well-positioned to capitalise on this industry growth thanks to a number of factors, including but not limited to:

An engaged and robust ICT industry willing to collaborate to build capacity within the region;
The Sunshine Coast Council and State Government’s investment in an international broadband submarine cable;
Supportive secondary, tertiary and upskilling education providers interested in expanding their offering;
The substantial regional pipeline of private and public sector investment;
The escalating rate of data and digital transformation occurring across many industries; and
The rate of population growth being experienced on the Sunshine Coast.

Inaugural Funding Partners

The establishment of SCtechIA was funded thanks to contributions from industry, government and private enterprise who identified the opportunity and accepted the challenge to build capacity and reputation within the local ICT industry.