WorldSkills Australia and AWS collaborate to inspire a passion for learning digital skills

AWS will provide free training to participants through AWS Academy and AWS Educate. Competitive challenges for participants to demonstrate their skills

WorldSkills Australia (WSA) today announced it is working with Amazon Web Services Inc.(AWS) to inspire young people to develop a passion for technology skills and excellence, through training and education programs.

The WorldSkills Australia regional competition is a one-day cloud skills competition, supported by the AWS Academy and AWS Educate programs, which will provide in-person cloud computing courses, AWS Academy accredited educators, and learning resources to member institutions to help them prepare for the virtual competition.

WSA is a social enterprise that passionately believes skills drive the future of young people, and focuses on driving technology-focused skill acquisition in Australia, and around the world. With industry support from AWS, WSA can continue to champion skills excellence in vocational, technological, and service-oriented careers. It will also continue to highlight the importance of high-quality teaching and learning, and the value of competition as a tool to showcase skill excellence in Australia on a regional and national level.

WSA holds more than 500 regional competitions in 34 regions across Australia, including Cyber Security, Web Design and Programming. These competitions test and help cultivate the skills of more than 4,000 young Australians.

The competitions provide participants and trainers with advice, practical productivity-based training, and development in skills such as cloud computing, and the opportunity to put these skills to the test. By building this mindset, WSA supports diverse participants compete in WSA competitions and helps broaden the adoption of these attitudes and skills in the workplace, bringing to life enhanced performance and career success.

Iain Rouse, Country Director for Australia and New Zealand, Worldwide Public Sector, Amazon Web Services Australia Pty Ltd, said, “AWS’s collaboration with WorldSkills Australia enables us to continue our investment in building diverse local talent, by making training available to more people. Cloud skills are in higher demand than ever before, and it is our mission to enable all people at any point in their education journey, as well as the current workforce, to upskill or reskill for the future.”

Trevor Schwenke, CEO at WorldSkills Australia said, ‘’The collaboration with AWS is a significant step forward for WorldSkills Australia’s vision of benchmarking skills excellence both domestically and internationally.  It will ensure that young Australians develop skills that are world leading which in turn will allow business and industry in Australia to compete in the global marketplace.  Digital skills and the use of technology is critical in many workplaces today and we are pleased to be working with AWS to help promote these pathways.’’