AIIA supports QUT to boost Qld's ICT skills

The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has announced that more than 1340 Queenslanders have participated in the two pilot Queensland Government-supported ICT micro-credentialing courses over the past 12 months. Over 820 people have completed the joint AIIA and QUT co-designed Cyber Security course and over 500 people have completed the IT Enabled Innovation course. As demand for ICT jobs rises in Australia, graduates of the AIIA’s Skills Hub courses have work-related skills with industry-recognised credentials.

The two pilot courses were co-designed by AIIA members, in partnership with QUT, to ensure that the skills acquired by participants met industry needs. The first course focuses on improving the professional skills of digital workers aimed at supporting digital innovation. The second course is designed to improve the cybersecurity capability for non-cyber professionals within Australia’s digital workforce. AIIA CEO Ron Gauci said this pilot demonstrates the need for an ongoing commitment from government, with the AIIA’s expertise, to roll out this program as a statewide co-designed cybersecurity course with QUT as well as across other higher educational and VET providers, to continue boosting skills across Queensland.

“Thanks to the Queensland Government’s funding, we have provided high-quality courses with QUT that have upskilled Australian ICT workers and we are committed to continue to work with them to expand the program. ICT has grown to become Australia’s third-largest sector of the economy. The high participation rate by Queenslanders in these two micro-credentials goes a long way towards government being able to achieve its objectives of the Digital Professional Workforce Action Plan,” said Gauci.

Gauci noted that Australia’s ICT workforce is struggling to keep up with this growth and demand for skills, with 1.1 million people predicted to be employed in the ICT sector by 2026. “The way our micro-credentialing courses have brought education providers, the ICT industry and workers together demonstrates that we need these types of courses across the country. There is massive demand for skilled ICT workers across Australia, and we are contributing by training and upskilling Australian workers to meet the evolving needs of the ICT industry,” said Gauci.

Dr Peter Beven, Director of Open Professional Education at QUT, said there has been strong demand from professionals to grow their digital skills to support their career journey; as a result, the Cyber Security and IT Enabled Innovation courses were developed with the skills needed by digital workers. “QUT is proud to partner with AIIA to deliver these courses. We pride ourselves on delivering real-world courses that deliver work-ready skills,” said Dr Beven.

“Australia has the chance to be a world leader in digital innovation; we must grasp this opportunity and provide a framework to build around. It is time for governments to realise the digital change that is occurring and to act now to support Australia’s ICT growth,” said Gauci.

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