Key Points:

  • Almost 12% of Australian job postings mentioned basic computer skills during the 2023-2024 financial year, well above the share of postings mentioning artificial intelligence (AI) or generative AI (GenAI). 
  • Basic computer skills were most frequently highlighted in job descriptions for roles in the administrative assistance, accounting and logistic support sectors. Beauty & wellness, physicians & surgeons and childcare featured the fewest mentions.  
  • There is notable variation within sectors. For example, there are job titles in administrative assistance (a sector with a high basic digital share) that rarely mention them. At the same time, there are job titles in retail trade (a sector with a low basic digital share)  where digital skills appear essential. 

While the world obsesses over artificial intelligence, many Australian employers simply look for workers with basic computer skills. A considerable share of Australian job postings published on Indeed mention these skills, particularly in the administrative assistance, accounting and logistic support sectors, a reminder that not all workers possess even basic computer literacy. 

Digital skills impact jobseekers in various ways, and a lack of fundamental skills can be a barrier to accessing job opportunities, especially given the prominence of online job platforms like Indeed. A large swathe of today’s labour market is effectively off-limits for those without the basic computer skills to search for jobs online or format a resume.  According to Jobs and Skills Australia, both basic and advanced digital skills are projected to be among the fastest-growing skills required in the Australian workplace. This trend suggests that workers and jobseekers lacking these basic skills are at risk of being marginalised. 

Indeed analysed how often generic terms including ‘computer skills’, ‘computer literacy’ and ‘Microsoft Office’ (and its various programs – Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.) appeared in job descriptions. This analysis compared the presence of these phrases across different sectors and job titles for the 2023-24 financial year.  

We found considerable variation in how often basic computer skills were mentioned, both between and within sectors. Even in sectors like administrative assistance, where these skills are frequently required, some roles rarely specify basic digital skills – perhaps because these skills are either unnecessary or are assumed to be held by applicants. 

Requirements for basic digital skills vary by sector

In 2023-24, 11.6% of Australian job postings explicitly mentioned keywords related to basic computer skills in their job descriptions. By comparison, over the same period, artificial intelligence keywords were featured in only 2.2% of Australian job postings and generative AI-related keywords in just 0.07%. Despite the cultural focus on artificial intelligence, actual workplace demand for basic digital skills comfortably outpaced it. 

Unsurprisingly, office-based roles had the highest share of job postings mentioning basic computer skills, including 41% of administrative assistance roles, 37% of accounting positions, and 36% of logistic support. Other sectors, including data analytics, insurance, and banking and finance, also prominently feature these requirements. Many of these are sectors where using a computer, even if not necessarily in the most advanced ways, is essential to performing the job. 

By contrast, in-person occupations rarely cited basic computer skills. Only 1.1% of job postings in beauty & wellness, 1.2% for physicians & surgeons and 1.5% for childcare featured basic digital skill requirements. Basic computer skills may be useful in these sectors but are not typically critical to job performance. 

Table titled “Australian jobs mentioning basic computer skills”. On the left-hand side, we show the sectors where basic computer skills are most frequently required, led by administrative assistance and accounting. On the right-hand side, we have the sectors where basic computer skills are rarely required, such as beauty & wellness and physicians & surgeons. 
Table titled “Australian jobs mentioning basic computer skills”. On the left-hand side, we show the sectors where basic computer skills are most frequently required, led by administrative assistance and accounting. On the right-hand side, we have the sectors where basic computer skills are rarely required, such as beauty & wellness and physicians & surgeons. 

In some cases, the low frequency of job postings mentioning basic computer skills reflects an assumption that candidates already possess these competencies. And for some roles, possessing these basic skills may simply be a given. That’s likely true in sectors like software development (6.9% of job postings), where greater emphasis is placed on more advanced computing skills.

Sector highlights 

An analysis of specific job titles mentioned in at least 200 Australian job postings in 2023-24 revealed significant variation in basic computer skill requirements within sectors, indicating that skill requirements are far from uniform even within broadly similar roles.

Almost every sector had a job title where basic computer skills were either not required or not mentioned. And most sectors had at least one job title where digital requirements were above the national average. 

Bar graph titled “Australian jobs requiring basic computer skills by sector”. With a horizontal axis ranging from 0 to 100%, we find considerable variation around the mean for most sectors, even those with the highest and lowest basic computer skill requirements. 
Bar graph titled “Australian jobs requiring basic computer skills by sector”. With a horizontal axis ranging from 0 to 100%, we find considerable variation around the mean for most sectors, even those with the highest and lowest basic computer skill requirements. 

Highlighting some prominent titles within sectors:

  • Administrative assistance: Documentation officers had the highest share of postings mentioning basic computer skills (78% of job postings), followed by team assistant (66%). In contrast, assistant coordinators (1.9%) and centre managers (6.3%) rarely required them. 
  • Customer service: While almost half of all sales support representatives and desktop support technician roles require basic digital skills, less than 1% of postings for personal bankers and rental agents mentioned them. This variation possibly reflects the diverse industries employing customer service representatives. 
  • Management: Perhaps no sector requires a broader range of skills than management, and that’s also reflected in basic digital skills. Site administrators (65%) and workshop managers (58%) often need basic computer skills, whereas few postings for department head, shift manager and childcare director mention them. 
  • Retail trade: Even in a sector such as retail trade, where just 5.6% of sector postings cited basic computer skills, these skills are often essential in roles including inventory manager (44%), counter sales representative (40%) and logistics associate (37%). 
Table titled “Top/bottom five job titles for basic computer skills”. Focusing on four sectors - administrative assistance, customer service, management and retail - we find considerable variation in basic computer skill requirements within sectors. 
Table titled “Top/bottom five job titles for basic computer skills”. Focusing on four sectors – administrative assistance, customer service, management and retail – we find considerable variation in basic computer skill requirements within sectors. 

In contrast, sectors including beauty & wellness, childcare, and, to a lesser extent, electrical engineering showed little variation in basic computer skill requirements across job titles.  This uniformity suggests a more consistent set of tasks and required skills within these sectors.  

Conclusion

Basic computer skills may lack the allure of artificial intelligence, but they continue to hold tremendous influence over the Australian job market. Basic computer literacy and Microsoft Office tools are a mainstay of the Australian digital economy, and jobseekers lacking those skills may often find their choices and opportunities limited. 

While policymakers are captivated by artificial intelligence’s transformative potential, they must not overlook the many Australians who lack elementary digital skills and are particularly vulnerable to being left behind by Australia’s ongoing digital transformation. Trends in basic computer skill requirements in Australia are broadly similar to those observed in the United States and the United Kingdom, indicating that this is a global challenge.  

Methodology

We identified jobs with basic computer skill requirements on Indeed by determining whether generic keywords, including “computer skills”, “computer literacy”, “Microsoft Office”, and its various programs (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.) were mentioned in job descriptions.  Job postings featuring these phrases were then compared across sectors and specific job titles to determine those jobs that were most and least likely to require basic digital skills.