The Tech Council of Australia's (TCA) Virtual Work Experience program, developed in collaboration with Australia's leading technology employers, has seen over 3,000 completions in just six months since its launch in February 2024.

The program is designed to give young Australians, including those facing employment barriers, a taste of tech careers. The TCA's ambitious goal is to have 1.2 million tech workers by 2030 to address skills shortages.

The online tech modules were developed in partnership with leading employers including CommBank, Microsoft, NBN Co, and Year13. The program supports a diverse range of participants, including more girls and women, people with disabilities, those experiencing disadvantage, and individuals from rural and regional Australia. Thirty-seven per cent of people who have completed a TCA Virtual Work Experience module identify as female.

"We need to engage more young Australians to develop their interest in tech as we continue towards our goal of 1.2 million tech workers by 2030 and address skills shortages. An important step in that process is giving students and young people a glimpse into the world of tech, raising their awareness of the types of jobs they could do, and creating pathways for them to enter the sector," said TCA Chief Executive Officer, Damian Kassabgi.

The Data Scientist experience, developed in partnership with CommBank, has the highest rate of female participation. The Virtual Work Experience program helps students develop skills in areas including cyber security, network engineering, and software engineering. The experiences can be accessed on the Year13 website and are also available in more than 2,200 schools on the Career Tools Platform.

"The high engagement in the TCA’s Virtual Work Experiences reflects the strong interest in future tech roles, which is exciting for the industry. Tech jobs are among the fastest-growing and best-paid occupations and we want to make sure all young people have the opportunity to pursue a career in the industry if they choose to. Our next generation of tech leaders could be among our Virtual Work Experience program participants," said TCA board member, Eglantine Etiemble.

CommBank’s Data Analytics Group Practice Lead, Vicki Wood, said: "As one of Australia’s largest employers, that is leading the way with technological innovation and skills-led careers, we know we have a role to play in helping build Australia’s tech talent pipeline. Through our partnership with TCA and Year13, we are encouraging young people to meet the skills of the future, as well as helping to improve diversity and accessibility, particularly supporting more women into a career in tech."

Co-CEO of Year13, Will Stubley, said: "Our Virtual Work Experience program addresses these barriers to enable every young person in Australia to get a taste of a career in tech. More than a third of course takers are female, which is really promising to see as we hope to get more young women to consider working in the tech industry. On average, about half of our participants say they are more likely to consider working in roles in cyber security, software engineering, network engineering and data science after completing the course."