Victoria has a $64 million plan to reskill 5000 workers for digital jobs

A $64 million program to reskill around 5000 mid-career workers for roles in the digital economy has been launched by the Victorian government.

The industry-backed Digital Jobs program has already signed on leading employers such as the ANZ bank, AWS, Carsales, MYOB, Salesforce, Siemens and Zendesk.

The workers involved will complete 12 weeks of skills training with Victorian training provider in fields such as data analytics, web development, digital marketing, cloud computing and cyber security.

RMIT Online, the University of Melbourne, Victoria University Polytechnic, La Trobe University, Monash College, and Bendigo TAFE Kangan Institute are among the training institutions taking part.

People who complete the training course with then score a 12-week paid internship with a Victorian business to further develop their new skills.

The first cohort of 450 participants is set to start industry placements in October.

Any Victorian business hosting one of the participants will receive a $5,000 wage subsidy to support the employment of the reskilled worker.

The state’s minister for innovation, medical research and the digital economy Jaala Pulford, said the government want to support mid-career Victorians to gain in-demand qualifications.

“We know they have a wealth of experience and skills to offer Victorian businesses,” she said.

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

ANZ will host 30 Digital Jobs participants in their teams across Victoria, offering them a combination of on-the-job learning and formal training.

The bank’s CEO Shayne Elliott said that employees who join the company from other roles “bring maturity and professional skills as well as different experiences and diversity, which can help us think differently about solutions for our customers and staff.”

He said the bank is always looking for people with strong data and technology skills.

“Our participants will be offered a combination of on-the-job learning and formal training to help them develop,” he said.

More information on the program is available at vic.gov.au/digitaljobs