Demand for Mobile App Developers
The Growing Demand for Skills in Mobile App Development
App use is continually growing, and Australia and the world at large will need workers with mobile app development skills. Our favourite social media apps, shopping, banking, and ride-hailing apps keep the world turning day by day, and so the demand for mobile app developers will only continue to grow.
While COVID-19 brought many industries to their knees, the demand for technological aids increased, and this included mobile applications. Stuck at home, we ordered meals through food-delivery apps. Once we were allowed out again, we used QR scanning apps to sign in at locations and bring up contactless restaurant menus. Throughout Australia, people were encouraged to download the COVIDSafe contact tracing app.
The pandemic may have fast-tracked the development and uptake of a range of apps, but apps were already keeping us informed, safe, and connected, long before 2020. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country plagued by the dangers of unexploded land mines, the BH Mine Suspected Areas app has long been helping to keep people safe.
While using an app that warns of land mines when you’re out for a walk might seem unfathomable to most Australians, we already accept as everyday apps such as VicEmergency, Fires Near Me, and others that warn of potential emergencies.
There’s every likelihood that the demand for apps with the potential to improve (or even save) lives will continue to grow year by year.
Social media apps and others get a bad rap for invading our privacy, holding undue influence, and even negatively impacting our mental health. So, for anyone considering a career in mobile app development, it’s great to see apps being used as a genuine force for good. As well as keeping us supplied with entertainment, and helping us to identify that unusual plant in the garden.
Opportunities to create innovative apps that provide people with help and resources are out there. Former Academy of Interactive Technology (AIT) student, Kaio Labre is a software engineer who helped build Rapid Response Revival’s First Aid Fast app, an app that allows users to access first aid guides and videos, as well as hospital directories and ambulance details from anywhere in the world.
In addition to all these life-changing and life-saving apps, there’s potential to develop apps in any area of life that interests you.
App Development and the Job Market in Australia
A report by Deloitte and the Australian Computer Society (ACS) looked at the projected growth for various jobs within the technology workforce. It found that amongst the occupations forecast to grow in the coming years, demand for software and applications programmers would see the largest increase in employment, with an additional 65,200 workers required between 2020 and 2026.
This is extremely encouraging for anyone looking to enter the sector and begin a career in app development, and you can see similar predictions of growth from other sources as well.
The Australian Government’s Your Career website lists future demand for software and applications programmers as “very strong”, while JobOutlook noted that the number of people working as software and applications programmers had grown very strongly between 2014 and 2019. The Federal Government has also identified software and applications programmers as one of 41 occupations on the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List.
Developing the Right Skills through an App Development Course
The high industry demand for applications programmers is good news for anyone thinking of entering the industry. However, just because demand is high, doesn’t mean it will be easy to walk into your dream job. You will still need the right skills as an app developer.
Working in app development will require knowledge of software, coding techniques, problem-solving skills, and sought-after soft skills.
Reports from SEEK found that employers were most commonly searching for candidates with skills and experience in:
- JavaScript programming
- C# programming
- Java programming
- Xamarin
A similar overview of desirable skills from Your Career listed the following:
- Communication skills
- JavaScript
- Java
- Microsoft C#
Here at AIT, our course design is informed by the skills demanded by industry. In a Bachelor of IT (Mobile Applications Development) you will learn how to code using object-oriented languages including:
- C++
- Java
- C#
- Objective C
Your app development course will cover the world’s most-used programming languages and other essentials for app development:
- C++
- HTML
- JavaScript
- Java
- C#
- Objective C
This solid grounding in coding fundamentals means you can graduate as a language-agnostic programmer, making you more adaptable, and more employable.
You will also learn to use industry-standard software, including:
- Microsoft Visual Studio
- Visual Studio Code
- Brackets IDE
- Android
- Xcode
- Diagrams.net
- XAMPP
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Cisco Packet Tracer
While other courses may focus on either iOS or Android operating systems, an app development course at AIT will teach you to design, build, and publish both iOS and Android apps. You will also learn a range of transferable programming and development skills.
As with any AIT course, you will learn valuable soft skills that will help with your future employability. Dedicated units help you to hone your communication skills, collaborative, and presentation skills, as you develop and pitch an app as part of a student production team; build your portfolio further by completing a client project; and gain on-the-job experience through our internship program.
The AIT curriculum is designed to simulate the demands of industry while equipping students with the real world and in-demand skills required for successful careers as mobile app developers.
Featured Image: Wisdom App by AIT Student Phoumany Chanthachack
Imagine a creative college where you can pursue your dreams in 2D animation, 3D animation, film, game design, IT or mobile app development.
Find out more about AIT and our courses by visiting our connect page and choosing your own adventure. Talk to someone about your study options, book a campus tour and have a look around, chat with a current AIT student or get started on your application.
