Training to address workforce’s digital deficit

A NEW training program coming to Geelong next week has been inspired by the need for the workforce to update its digital skills.

Geelong-based Harvest HR have created the Digital Fundamentals program for jobseekers, underemployed, semi-skilled and those returning to the workforce.

Last year’s Australian Jobs and Skills Summit noted digital capability was a key requirement for workers today, with an issues paper released in August finding 28 per cent of the population were digitally excluded and less than half of professional workers felt competent with handling digital information and problem-solving using data.

Following the summit, the federal government announced its support for a Digital and Tech Skills compact between government, unions and technology employers, with the aim of reaching 1.2 million tech-related jobs by 2030.

“Whether you are assisting jobseekers into digitally enabled roles or are seeking a role that integrates with technology, there is the need for a baseline skills to access these opportunities.” Harvest HR director Maree Herath said.

In response, Harvest HR has created the Digital Fundamentals Program, curated by leading instructional designers on the back of a 2021 Victorian government research project that addressed digital deficits and what employers sought today.

The program teaches the base skills required to access a career that uses devices and technology to perform critical and fundamental components of modern work.

“The program is multi-module, self-paced and online so that participants use technology while learning how to work with technology. It starts with the very basics, so no one is left behind,” Ms Herath said.

Upon completion, students will understand devices from personal computers to tablets and smartphones.

They will be able to confidently answer the question “What is the cloud?” and how business operates as well as how work is performed in the cloud.

Microsoft 365 is growing as the major business system platform, and participants will also be able to use the platform and its most common apps – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.

Harvest HR says the program has been designed so organisations and their hiring, on-boarding and/or IT functions can be assured new employees will hit the ground running with technology, or those upskilling or progressing from non-tech or low-tech roles to those that incorporate technology can grasp the key concepts and operating systems and an organisation’s IT infrastructure.

The Digital Fundamentals Program will launch on Wednesday, February 8 at Novotel Geelong, and will be available for enrolment from March.

As appeared in Geelong Times, February, 2023.