Corporate Citizenship
IBM and Soldier On launch SkillsBuild
August 14, 2020
Categorized: Corporate Citizenship
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From left to right: Soldier On Chairman, Peter Leahy, The Hon. Scott Morrison MP, and Katrina Troughton, IBM Managing Director Australia and New Zealand.
CANBERRA (14 August 2020) – IBM and Soldier On today announced an official partnership to launch SkillsBuild, a free and open digital learning platform and initiative to help more than 3,000 former Defence personnel and veterans upskill rapidly allowing them to transition into jobs in high demand sectors including tech and cybersecurity.
Announced at Parliament House today, by the Prime Minister of Australia, The Hon. Scott Morrison MP, IBM Managing Director Australia and New Zealand, Katrina Troughton said, “There is an urgent need to redeploy and reskill the workforce within Australia – particularly with technical and professional skills–and SkillsBuild goes a long way to addressing this need.”
“Investment in future skills is vital to ensure the country’s ongoing digital literacy. As a mid-career re-skilling initiative, our partnership with Soldier On will help many Australians build new skills and redeploy existing ones, pivoting to a new career path that will help address the huge skills gap we have in cybersecurity in particular, but also in digital skills more generally.
“Soldier On is an extraordinary organisation dedicated to the empowerment of veterans and their families – especially through access to education programs and employment support – and IBM is thrilled to partner with them on this initiative.”
Soldier On Chairman, Peter Leahy said “We are very excited to partner with IBM on this innovative digital learning platform and thank the Prime Minister for his support. It will ensure the veteran community have another avenue to help them re-skill and transition into a new career following active service.
“As part of Soldier On’s Pathways Program, the IBM Skillsbuild platform will enable more veterans and their families to upskill in high-growth areas like cybersecurity and secure their future post-service career faster.”
Under the Program, over 3000 veterans and their families will have access to online learning programs to gain digital and professional skills. The subjects covered include web development, data management, customer support, cloud administration and cybersecurity. Participants will be able to book time with IBM experts for personalised coaching on course content, career planning, professional skills and labour market insights. Participants will also have opportunities to gain experience working with industry professionals on real-life projects, thus increasing their job readiness and employability.
About IBM SkillsBuild
The IBM SkillsBuild Program is a digital learning and education platform that was developed to provide job seekers – including those seeking employment, returning to work after leave, or those changing professions – with accredited digital learning content from IBM as well as highly regarded partners including Red Hat, CodeDoor, Coorpacademy, Credly, MyInnerGenius, and Skillsoft. It is currently available in more than 15 countries with 30,000 users. The online platform is available to all Australians however additional services are currently only available for former Defence personnel and veterans.
More information about SkillsBuild and can be found here.
About Soldier On
Soldier On is a not-for-profit organisation delivering a range of services to enable veterans and their families to thrive.
Soldier On’s holistic support services include a range of mental health and wellbeing programs, employment support, and education programs, as well as participation and social connection activities centred around the needs of the Australian veteran community. The support Soldier On provides currently reaches more than one million Australian veterans and their families.
Further information is available at www.soldieron.org.au
Authors: IBM Australia Communications Australia
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