In 2021, the Victorian State Government launched its $64 million Digital Jobs Program, to create pathways into technology sector roles for thousands of mid-career Victorians. The program has upskilled and supported the future job prospects of over 5,700 individuals.
This one-of-a-kind program, delivered by the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, helped Victorians gain digital qualifications, navigate career change, rebuild their confidence and undertake job placements in digital and technical fields.
Participants completed a 12-week industry-endorsed training course in high-demand areas such as cybersecurity, IT support, digital marketing and business analytics. They received personalised career coaching, job search support and access to a 12-week government-funded paid placement with a Victorian business. Some of Victoria's top employers hosted program participants, including ANZ, carsales.com, Commonwealth Bank, Zendesk and Salesforce.
From former teachers to early childhood educators, truck drivers to forklift operators, parents returning from parental leave to caretakers re-entering the workforce and beyond. This program ensured more Victorians have the right digital skills for the jobs of the future.
“After working in a completely different field for over 15 years, stepping into the digital world felt daunting,” a participant said.
“The Digital Jobs Program gave me the structure, support and confidence I needed to make the transition."
"The training was practical and up to date and the career coaching helped me recognise how my existing experience could translate into this new space. I’ve now landed a role in tech that I never thought possible.”
At the completion of the program, 91% of participants said they felt prepared to take the next step in their career.
To deliver exceptional outcomes and learning journeys with thousands of applications across multiple cohorts, Jobaccelerator and Scaleup developed a co-designed delivery to effectively execute this program at scale.
With extensive demand from participants, the selection process delivered by Scaleup was highly competitive, recruiting high potential individuals. This includes candidate assessment screening for core capabilities such as growth mindset, resilience, planning and delivering, critical thinking, problem-solving, working with people, communication skills and digital literacy.
With this, the program secured highly successful and diverse participants from a range of backgrounds across metropolitan and regional Victoria.
While Jobaccelerator provided expert one-to-one career coaching, employability workshops and access to industry-leading career transition content. Importantly, this expertise supported participants in choosing their new field of work, discovering their transferable skills, elevating their resumes, applying for placements and enhancing interview skills.
98% of the Digital Jobs Program participants said their coach effectively understood and supported their career transition experience.
“With an internationally competitive digital industry generating more than $34 billion in revenue annually, there’s a significant opportunity to reskill Victorians to undertake meaningful career change,” said Kate Robertson, Head of Coaching and Career Transition Services at Jobaccelerator.
“From the outset of this highly competitive tender, we recognised the immense potential of this program in terms of both scale and impact."
"Our partnership with the Department has been grounded in a clear vision to support mid-career Victorians to thrive in a changing workforce. Together, we’ve built a program that not only delivers strong job outcomes at scale, but places individuals at the centre of every step. We’re proud to have worked side by side with the Department to create lasting, inclusive career opportunities across the state,” she continued.
The Digital Jobs Program prioritised diversity, equity and inclusion, by actively seeking to upskill mid-career Victorians with a variety of backgrounds. This has resulted in over 22,000 Victorians applying with:
ANZ has also hosted Digital Jobs trainees across its technology teams. Carina Parisella, who leads the bank’s tech workforce strategy, saw the program as part of a broader commitment to diversity and future-readiness:
“Diversity isn’t just about gender and it’s not just nice to have. It is a commercial and economic imperative,” says Carina.
“Diverse teams reflect our communities and customers. We need people of all ages and backgrounds with different perspectives,” she continued.
The program is helping businesses find skilled talent outside of traditional recruitment pipelines and bringing in new perspectives that drive innovation. At carsales.com, for example, the team welcomed Digital Jobs graduate John into a cybersecurity role after years in IT sales.
“He made a valuable contribution from day one thanks to his training and previous experience,” says Anthea Corridon, General Manager of People Partnering. “He helped build our new framework, processes and procedures for our global cybersecurity system.”
"My coach was incredibly supportive and made me feel seen from the very first session," one participant said.
"She helped me realise that the skills I already had, despite being out of the workforce for over a decade, were still valuable and relevant. Her honesty, encouragement and practical advice gave me the confidence to move forward. I’m so grateful for her guidance,” they continued.
With this, 87% of participants said the program made them feel more positive about their career change.
While another commented; “The coaching sessions were one of the most helpful parts of the Digital Jobs Program. My coach was patient, flexible and a fantastic listener. She helped me navigate not just the job search, but some of the broader life challenges that come with career change. Her guidance gave me clarity and the tools I needed to take action and her encouragement kept me going."
With over 19,000 coaching sessions delivered by over 30 expert coaches, clear themes emerged from the sessions ranging from resume development, interview skills, identifying transferable skills and managing change.
"Career change can feel like a leap into the unknown. For many participants, especially those who’ve been in the same industry for decades or have taken time out of the workforce,” said Shehana Sicinski, Lead Jobaccelerator Coach.
“Our coaching is designed to meet people exactly where they are. We create a safe, supportive space to work through doubts, build confidence and take practical steps forward. We help them connect the dots between their past and future, draw out transferable skills they didn’t realise they had and reframe their story in a way that makes sense for this next chapter.”
The success of the Digital Jobs Program shows what is possible when industry, government and coaching expertise come together to create lasting change. By investing in the potential of mid-career Victorians, the program isn’t just helping individuals pivot into meaningful digital careers, it’s reshaping what a future-ready, inclusive workforce can look like.
“For thousands of Victorians, this program has opened doors that once felt closed, proving that with the right support, it’s never too late to learn, adapt and thrive,” said Kate Robertson.
“The Digital Jobs Program is not just a career initiative, it’s a blueprint for how governments, industry and partners can collaborate to tackle workforce transformation at scale.”
