Today we are facing a severe skills gap in data and analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, robotics and automation, software and systems development, change management and innovation.
These critical skill gaps have arisen as technology and innovation outpace workforce capability. The pandemic, and the inability to fill some skills gaps from overseas workers, has further complicated the challenge facing many businesses.
Companies – large and small and across multiple sectors – have been forced to recognise the gap between the skills they have, and what is needed, in order to tackle the rapidly evolving future of work.
UTS recently spoke to some of Australia’s top employers to understand their current priorities.
Organisations across multiple industries, including insurance, banking, telecoms, technology, engineering, construction and mining, agreed there was a drastic skills shortage in these areas. They agreed that without the option to supplement skill sets with overseas workers, Australian employers must reskill and upskill the assets they currently have - their people.
Higher education has a critical role in this area. Universities must be able to support organisations with the development and training they need for their people. This upskilling needs to be rapid, targeted and measurable.
UTS is committed to addressing key skills gap areas with a range of short courses and microcredentials. Compared to traditional long-form education, such as undergraduate and Masters’ degrees, our bite-sized courses range from an hour to eight weeks, depending on the topic.
We are actively working with multiple organisations, to reskill people in areas where skill demand is high. Read more about our collaborative work with Telstra to upskill their people in data analytics, machine learning, data engineering and overall data literacy. Our courses can be adapted to meeting the needs of the organisation. They can also be studied face-to-face or virtually, to meet the needs of workers in multiple locations and comply with COVID-19 restrictions.
UTS has newly developed courses in health, law, science, communications, leadership and transferrable or ‘soft’ skills, designed in collaboration with industry experts.
It is imperative the higher education sector takes a proactive approach to making learning more responsive to industry requirements. Reskilling and upskilling the workforce will be a necessity for multiple organisations. Co-designed microcredentials and short courses, such as those developed and delivered by UTS, are proving a valuable mechanism to address this national skills shortage.
Interested in upskilling or reskilling your team fast?
- Investigate the microcredentials and short courses on offer for your organisation through UTS Open.
Need a specific learning solution for your people?
- Talk to our Enterprise Learning Team about how we can co-design learning for your organisation’s needs.
Looking for a free a taste of the learning we offer?
- Try our free online courses.
