Australian airline Qantas is aiming to harness the country's indigenous workforce as it seeks to take on more people in its IT operations.

The carrier is working with technology firm IBM on a new scheme that will target learners at different stages of the education process, in a bid to increase awareness and interest in such careers.

Qantas' indigenous employment programme was first established in 1988, but the new partnership represents an increased focus on the resources available at a national level.

IT camps will be offered to schoolchildren, along with traineeships for high school students and graduate positions at tertiary institutions.

"We are confident of meeting our target of 450 indigenous employees by June 2010, our sponsorships remain highly successful and our indigenous staff engagement initiatives are well underway," said Geoff Dixon, CEO at Qantas.

The announcement follows a report by Hudson that showed 69 per cent of employers in Australia's IT sector claim to have not been overly affected by the economic slowdown.