For students at Salisbury East High School in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, a new online work experience program aiming to build skills and prepare them for future careers in a rapidly growing tech jobs market is a perfect realisation of King’s quote.
Salisbury East High is part of an alliance of 12 high schools, in a typically low socioeconomic area with some of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.
A Category 2 school (with Category 1 being the highest level of low socioeconomic status) of just over 1000 students, it is culturally diverse, with a high proportion of African, Nepalese and Middle Eastern students, three special education classes and includes an alternative learning unit catering to around 60 students who are chronically disengaged with school.
Principal Sue Shepherd, who has been at the school for 19 years and has only in the last 12 months taken on her leadership role, says the pilot initiative is an invaluable opportunity for young students to gain exposure to real-world work experience.
Designed by the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) in consultation with some of Australia’s leading technology employers, including CommBank, Microsoft, NBN Co and Year13, the program gives young Australians the opportunity to experience careers in tech.
Significantly, a priority for the program is supporting a diverse range of participants, including girls and women, people with disability, people experiencing disadvantage, and people from rural and regional Australia.
Shepherd says it is exceptionally difficult for her students to access work experience that caters to their needs.
“Building aspiration in our young people in the north can be a challenge ... for a whole range of reasons,” she explains.
“Getting them to be more aspirational, to work really hard to achieve those high-paying jobs and knowing what’s available, they’re just not exposed to that.
“They don’t have people in their lives who are, a lot of the time, doing those sorts of jobs – so the opportunity to have industry professionals work with them, have conversations with them, and to have it accessible for our kids so that they can connect with people without having to travel too far is an exciting prospect.”
Salisbury East High School principal Sue Shepherd, pictured above middle, says the program is opening doors for young students who may be interested in a career in tech but not necessarily have the means to physically attend a work-experience placement.
For some it’s even as simple as learning how to dress in a work experience situation and building the capacity to feel comfortable in business and corporate environments.
“So this online opportunity and connection can be game-changing for our kids to learn about what is out there, what sort of skills you need, what are the capabilities that will allow them to be successful in this sort of environment.
“And real people who they can talk to who may share a background, or it might be an interest, but that they can make connections with, that they can then see, ‘yeah, I could do this. This is something that would be great for me.’”
South Australia has rapidly emerged in recent years as a defence and innovation hub, where tech skills are in high demand.
The program’s facilitators are looking to set young people up for careers of the future that will help ensure the state retains talent and continues to build its exciting tech ecosystem.
TCA chief business officer Chris O’Connell says the pilot program has had almost 10,000 completions nationally since its launch in February 2024, and with 16 per cent of those being young South Australians, the strong completion rates indicate how accessible programs can help close Australia’s skills shortage crisis.
“It is critical we engage young Australians from all backgrounds to grow their interest in tech as we continue towards our goal of 1.2 million tech workers by 2030 and address skills shortages that are impacting Australia’s economy and productivity,” O’Connell says.
“We are committed to ensuring the tech sector is attracting young people from around the country and through this program, we aim to give students the confidence to thrive in the digital economy and empower the next generation of innovators.”
Each experience within the program focuses on a high-demand technology role, so it might be a cybersecurity specialist, a data scientist, a software engineer or an NBN network engineer.
Students gain an overview of the job role and can view video content featuring young tech professionals sharing their insights.
Shepherd says the skills and capabilities that are needed in digital and cyber security roles are as diverse as the amount of jobs that there are in that sector.
Learners get an inside look into a 'Day in the Life' of these professionals, explore the various pathways into these roles, and work on skill-based activities.
Shepherd says one of the strengths of the program is its flexibility.
Accessible via smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop devices, students can engage wherever they are, be it at home or at school, and completely independently.
“So there’s a whole range of multimedia tools that kids can use to learn about the tech industry, and then opportunities for some real life connection with experts, people who are working in the field that then they can ask questions of, practice some of the skills they’re learning and that can be in a classroom, in their bedroom, wherever is the most appropriate place for them to be learning.
“I think it opens doors for rural kids who might not have the opportunity that kids in the cities have, and for kids without the economic means to access (these) things.”
A passionate advocate for public schooling, Shepherd says SA education is “absolutely” heading in the right direction.
“There’s certainly a move towards us developing capabilities and soft skills, and it’s the right move because an engaging curriculum and content is so valuable.
“Looking at what we are teaching and why, what are we trying to achieve through that – I think that’s where we’ve made great strides and knowing that those skills and capabilities are what we’re trying to develop.”
She says it doesn’t necessarily involve students demonstrating they can do Pythagoras.
“It’s that they can problem solve, that they can be innovative, that they can look for different ways to do things, that they have resilience and they can have empathy for people.
“They’re all really important capabilities and skills to have so that you can be successful out in the real world.”
Shepherd says previously careers education was something that was explored from Year 10.
“We know now you need the exposure, you need the learning, you need the development from the ages of 11 or 12 years, so that students can begin making better informed choices earlier, so that they can then be accessing VET courses or school-based apprenticeships when they’re in Year 11, so they’ve got that head start.”
For enquiries on how you can include the program at your school, email: community@techcouncil.com.au or contact Year 13, here.
