VU Polytechnic partners with Victorian Government to deliver digital skills training

Now more than ever, businesses need assistance with digital skills and technologies to remain viable. Victoria University (VU) Polytechnic has joined the Victorian Government’s new Digital Jobs program to deliver industry-backed digital skills training for Victorians reimagining their careers.

The mid-career-focused program, announced in August by Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford, is a $64 million initiative that is the first of its kind in Australia, designed to address our growing need for digital skills.

Over the next three years, the program will equip up to 5000 mid-career Victorians with future-focused digital skills and place them in paid, short-term digital roles with Victorian businesses. The program will expand the pool of candidates with digital knowledge, and help to close the critical skills gaps that businesses are experiencing.

Successful candidates will undertake a 12-week training course in digital skills, followed by a 12-week paid internship with a business in a digital role. 

VU Polytechnic to deliver specialised courses

As part of the program, VU Polytechnic will be delivering a suite of courses focused on:

• Cybersecurity Foundations
• Software Engineering
• Information Technology Support

VU Polytechnic is proud to be able to contribute to the Victorian Government’s program and to support our state’s modern and evolving workforce, which needs people with digital skills. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated technology-enhanced working and business practices, and access to flexible, high-quality training that allows Victorians to transition into a digital career is critical to the growth of our economy.
- Dianne Semmens, Victoria University Deputy Vice-Chancellor (interim) of Vocational Education and Pathways.

Minister for Innovation Jaala Pulford said the Government was committed to growing Victoria’s pipeline of tech talent.

“We know the demand for digital talent is increasing rapidly, and the Digital Jobs program has been designed to build our tech workforce and create new opportunities for Victorians.”

It’s fantastic to see VU Polytechnic jumping on board. Their involvement will mean participants will learn from one of the state’s best training providers, equipping them with great skills for the next stage of their career.
– Jaala Pulford

Courses complement digital trade focus

The Polytechnic is well positioned to deliver this essential training given its recent mission to support the west of Melbourne in its transition into the rapidly growing digital trades industry from a traditional manufacturing-based economy. In 2019, VU Polytechnic launched a Cyber Security Operations Centre (Cyber SOC) in partnership with Cisco at the St Albans campus, and re-established the digital technology arm of its vocational training.

Situated in the heart of Melbourne’s west and officially opened in February 2020, the Polytechnic’s Sunshine Skills Hub also provides fast, flexible training solutions with a focus on developing future skills in emerging fields such as:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• 3D printing
• digital design
• construction robotics
• data analytics
• e-health
• cybersecurity.

At VU’s Werribee campus, more than 9000 secondary school students annually access the state-of-the-art facilities at the Wyndham Tech School and engage directly with industry to build their passion for a career, using critical thinking, problem solving, innovation and collaboration.

We are shifting the way we produce and deliver education to prepare our students for the ever-changing future of work, a place where the physical and digital worlds converge. No matter where someone is at in life – schooling years, career-starter or changer, up-skiller or hobbyist – we offer the technology and training to help them develop the skills they need to succeed. Being able to deliver these courses as part of the DSJP is the next step for us in our vision to equip Victorians for the future of work.
– Gail Bray, Director Wyndham Tech School and Innovation and Technology

VU Polytechnic officially commenced delivery of the first of the three courses on the 12 July.