McKinsey's Generation Australia launches tech training program
Moving with the times, McKinsey & Company’s Generation Australia is looking to help meet an unprecedented spike in the demand for IT development skills in Australia, through a new web developer training programme.
The twelve week training programme has been set up in partnership with technology companies MYOB, REA Group and telecom giant Telstra, and will be offered five days a week free of charge. Participants need no experience or tech skills to sign up, and are eligible to apply if they are out of full time employment and not engaged in other education and training.
According to Chief Operating Officer at Generation Australia Malcolm Kinns who spoke to New Daily, participants will be selected based on their individual situation and level of commitment. The programme will use a combination of teaching and online learning materials to train participants as web developers, offering a guaranteed interview with a tech employer at the end.
So far, the programme boosts an employment rate of 80% within the first month of graduating, making it a highly coveted course. The demand for this course is only set to soar when examined against the broader economic context unfolding in Australia.
The rapid spread of digitalisation in recent years has left Australia with a significant gap in digital skills among its workforce – and this was before the Covid-19 crisis. Now, as a growing number of businesses rapidly transition to the virtual world under lockdown conditions, and others look to digitalise their supply chains to maximise efficiency, the demand for digital skills has gone into overdrive.
Meanwhile, businesses are also looking to cut costs, which has led approximately a million Australians to lose their jobs since the pandemic began. ING Bank recently conducted a survey among nearly 4,000 Australians, looking to gauge the response to Covid-19 among the country’s workforce.
ING found that while many are concerned about losing their job, they also see this scenario as an opportunity for a fresh start in the post Covid-19 world. More three million Australians plan to change career after the crisis, and many have begun the process of learning new skills to prepare for this change.
Nearly a quarter of those surveyed by ING admitted that they lack the requisite skills for the future of work, which means that tens of thousands of Australians are set to engage in digital training of some sort in the near future.
Initiatives such as the one now taken by Generation Australia will be crucial to ensuring that this demand is met. Australians with no prior experience might be looking to enter the digital space, and such programmes are their ticket. The programme aligns with Generation Australia’s other work, aimed at increasing employability among young Australians and matching them with potential employers.
Supporting young unemployed
Global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company founded Generation in 2014, and has since grown into a global operation spanning 13 countries across the globe. In Australia, Generation offers a variety of training programmes, including a dedicated disability support course as well as the latest web development programme.
According to its website, Generation Australia boasts a graduation rate of 97% and nearly 70% of those employed from generation remain employed a year after being placed. Internationally, the organisation prides itself on identifying the unique talent needs of specific markets, and helping them with building the necessary 21st century skills.
