says Butler. "These are good jobs, the kind we would like to have more of in New Zealand. Many of these staff have gone on to create businesses, sometimes competitors." "A second critical success factor is that we need an education system producing skilled young people who are excited about careers in science and technology," Butler says. "We need to provide these young people with pathways to help them into these careers. "We don't do this well enough in New Zealand. For some reason, despite the wealth of opportunity that IT careers have to offer, it isn't a particularly popular choice for our young people." Butler says the sector is not supported by the political vision and sustained government sponsorship demonstrated by many other countries. Commenting on All of Government, he says "some issues have become more commoditised than some that lie ahead - business applications supporting specific needs." Butler says the company has developed a steady stream of work for Australian clients as it looks to grow. "We're very pleased at the speed with which we are ramping up." He says Optimation has five clients in Australia and is "talking to" around 25.