Job-ready grads are closing the digital skills gap

After a day of classes, homework, and part-time work, students need time to wind down. So, using up their precious free hours to learn industry skills can be daunting. 

When the University of Sunshine Coast (USC) embedded industry certifications as a mandatory part of its ICT curriculum this year, it solved a problem for students. For the first time, they could get those extra qualifications in-class, paid-for, as part of their degree. 

USC’s move also solved a problem for local tech industry employers, who have long been concerned about a digital skills gap, says Dr Rania Shibl, USC Deputy Dean of the School of Science, Technology and Engineering. 

We recognise that these are industry skills that we should be teaching to prepare the students for the workforce, and so we have carved out space and time for that. 

The impetus for the new approach was a conversation last year between the Sunshine Coast Business Council and the university about the need to foster digital skills in the region. USC moved fast to implement the idea. 

“There is a big need for graduates to have job-ready skills to enable them to hit the ground running,” says Shibl, who is also on the management committee of the Sunshine Coast Technology Industry Alliance, a united voice for the regional ICT industry. 

She says the School of Science, Technology and Engineering offers certification in skills such as Microsoft’s Azure AI Fundamentals, Azure Data Fundamentals, Microsoft Security and Identity Compliance. 

After joining Microsoft Learn for Educators (a program that supports educators with curriculum, learning resources, and preparation to teach Microsoft courses),  the university partnered with global EdTech business Prodigy Learning to offer the student learning materials, and certification exams, which has made the process of including these essential industry skills in curriculum very efficient and effective. 

“We embedded the exam as one of the assessments in our courses, and so every single student has the opportunity to pass and gain certification,” she says. 

The training is offered to students from their first years of studying for a Bachelor of Computer science, Bachelor of ICT, and the masters programs in Cybersecurity and Forensics, and ICT. 

Existing tasks and assessments in the curricula were modified to prepare students for the certification exams. 

“The students love it. They are over-the-moon about it,” says Shibl.  

It increases their competitiveness when they are applying for part-time employment during their degree programs. It also allows them to work in the industry-aligned to their degree program while they study. They gain valuable, real-life experience 

USC computer science student Jeshin Chetty-Sardar, 19, has taken the exams for a JavaScript course and a Microsoft Azure AI fundamentals certification. 

“Maybe down the line, I would have gone for the certificate, but having it now and having it as part of the course helps force us to be industry-ready,” he says. “It has helped a lot with understanding the course material.” 

The certifications will prove useful for Chetty-Sardar during a paid internship with Dell, helping improve coding courses for children.