NSW Department of Education works with AWS to transform tech skills and the digital jobs landscape

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies is changing how we work and what skills workers need to be able to thrive. The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2023 estimates that 60 percent of workers will require retraining by 2027 to prepare for jobs of the future, in a world of intelligent machines and cognitive computing. Consequently, there is a widening skills gap that the education sector needs to address. To help meet this challenge in Australia, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has deepened its strategic collaboration with the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education (DoE), which prioritises both educator and student upskilling.

Upskilling educators for the classroom

According to UNESCO, more than 90 percent of teachers have never received any training or advice on how to use generative AI in school. Through this partnership, AWS provides resources and training programs to transform how technology is taught and applied in classrooms across NSW. In April 2024, our AWS Skills to Jobs team and the NSW DoE hosted an industry training day for more than 70 vocational education and training (VET) educators. The event’s aim was to ensure government, independent, and catholic school teachers updated their industry expertise and were positioned to take technology skills learning material back to the classroom.

A panel discussion from the NSW Digital Skills and Workforce Compact was also integrated, outlining the diverse career pathways and opportunities available in the booming technology sector. The Compact is a partnership between the NSW Government, digital industry, and education and training partners that collectively works to solve digital workforce shortages. Hands-on activities and curriculum-aligned content ensured the training was highly relevant and engaging for attendees. The feedback reflected this, with 89 percent of participants recommending the training to fellow educators.

How are work placement opportunities changing?

The impact of this collaboration extends beyond upskilling teachers – it also reaches the next generation of learners. In alignment with the NSW Public Education 2023 action plan, AWS supports students directly with quality career-related learning experiences, and the innovative VET Virtual Work Placement Program.

Nearly 550 VET students from 164 schools across NSW gained hands-on experience with cloud computing over the 35-hour virtual placement, earning industry credentials and exploring future career opportunities.

Students upskilled on the AWS Educate learning platform, attended seminars on topics including cybersecurity, generative AI, and data analytics, and cumulatively received more than 50 hours of small group mentoring from AWS employees.

Democratising access to tech careers

This virtual placement model has democratised access to meaningful tech career experiences for students across the entire state, including those in rural and remote areas who have historically faced barriers.

“As a remote student, accessing traditional in-person work placements in technology fields was virtually impossible for me,” said Liam Jones, a year 12 student at Wilcannia Central School. “The AWS virtual program opened my eyes to the opportunities in cloud computing and data roles that I could pursue after graduating.”

Nine out of 10 student participants said they would highly recommend the virtual placement opportunity to others. Many expressed feeling empowered and excited about exploring future pathways in cloud and other tech fields after the program.

“We’ve seen the powerful impact this virtual work placement has in building career awareness and aspirations among students,” said Louise Stigwood, AWS director of enterprise for Australia and New Zealand. “AWS is committed to fostering the skills and empowering the next generation of cloud talent through programs like this.”

A model for the future of workforce development

This is the fourth consecutive year that AWS has hosted the VET Virtual Work Placement program in NSW, with the model evolving and improving each year based on participant feedback.

The program exemplifies how public-private sector partnerships can innovatively work to address the digital skills gap. By leveraging AWS expertise and scale, the DoE can provide meaningful, cutting-edge work-integrated learning opportunities that are difficult to facilitate alone.

“Our collaboration with AWS allows us to prepare both our teachers and students for the cloud-enabled workforce of the future,” said Georgina Harrisson, Secretary of the NSW DoE. “We’re proud to lead the way in rethinking workforce development models for the digital age.”

The next iteration: AI takes center stage

Building on the success so far, the 2025 edition of the VET Virtual Work Placement will have an even stronger emphasis on AI and generative AI skills and applications. AWS will bring in AWS Partners to provide students with a more holistic perspective on AI’s real-world impacts across industries.

“A recent AWS study found that 90 percent of employers envision becoming an AI-driven organisation by 2028,” said Stigwood. “Initiatives like our virtual work placement are critical for building the next generation’s capabilities in AI and adjacent disciplines like data, cloud, and cybersecurity.”

The collaboration between AWS and the NSW DoE demonstrates how the education sector can proactively address digital skills gaps through innovative approaches. This pioneering public-private partnership model equips teachers and students alike with future-focused skills, ensuring NSW leads in developing a workforce ready for AI’s transformational impact.

Reach out to the AWS Skills to Jobs team at anz-stj@amazon.com if you’re interested in getting involved with the 2025 program.