Skills of the future: Igniting a passion for tech

In a world increasingly influenced by technology, it’s crucial for Australians to develop the tech skills of the future, boosting career possibilities and getting to work on the innovation that will shape tomorrow. 

“At CommBank, we’re focused on supporting our people to develop the tech skills required for the future, as well as the broader Australian community,” explains Kathryn Howard, CommBank's Product Owner Community Skilling. In this role Kathryn leads the bank’s strategy and delivery of initiatives that aim to support skilling for communities, delivering new and diverse talent pipelines and capability for CommBank and the Australian community. 

CommBank’s community skilling program focuses on three key areas:

1. Skilling future workers aligned with diversity and priority skills – such as data science, engineering, artificial intelligence and cyber security. 
2. Skilling small businesses in evolving foundation skills, including digital skills.
3. Investing in Australian innovation and research for future skills, such as artificial intelligence (AI).

“CommBank’s community skilling program is one of the ways we’re helping to enhance the digital skills and capability of Australians, laying the foundations for their future financial wellbeing and ensuring the nation will be able to remain economically prosperous,” says Kathryn. “Research shows Australia is at risk of not having the technology workforce we need by 2030, so we need to work hard to close the skills gap.”

Inspiring more women into tech

Not only do we need to increase the overall technology talent pool in Australia, but we need more people from diverse backgrounds to consider tech careers, explains Jane Adams, CommBank Executive General Manager HR Technology. 

“To create products, services and experiences that represent the entire Australian community we need technology teams with diverse experiences and perspectives to unlock the innovation and increased problem solving that comes from bringing varied perspectives and backgrounds together.

“In particular, women are hugely underrepresented in technology jobs around the country,” says Jane. “We need to encourage more women to consider this as a viable, attractive career path by building awareness of what working in tech actually looks like and providing exposure to skill development and appropriate pathways.”

That’s why CommBank is proud to be the presenting partner of Vogue Codes 2024, helping showcase some of the dynamic careers and pathways on offer in STEM and encourage more women to consider a career in technology.

Equipping the next generation with tech skills

Hoping to inspire the next generation of technologists, CommBank has recently partnered with Year13 and the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) to provide national virtual work experience for young people, providing a free and accessible taster of what a job in tech is really like.

“In its first three months, we’ve seen great engagement in the Year13 program, with data science seeing the strongest female participation rate at 36 per cent. Together with TCA and Year13, we’re focused on engaging even more female students in these experiences and looking for further opportunities to support young women into tech subjects,” says Kathryn.

Year13 is one of many initiatives from the bank that has a strong focus on upskilling the next generation, particularly women, with the tech skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing workforce.

Another is Girls in Tech, an ongoing initiative between CBA and Telstra designed to address the lack of high school aged girls studying STEM subjects – despite the rising demand for STEM skills. This annual event gives 250 female high school students the opportunity to see how STEM skills can be applied in real-life settings, understand the boundless opportunities a career in STEM offers and dream outside the box about their futures. 

“What we’re seeing is that as technology evolves it’s becoming less technical in some ways and the required skills are things like problem solving, continuous learning, agility and collaboration,” says Jane. “These skills often align well with the skills and interests of young women.”

At the recent Vogue Codes Summit, some of our female leaders shared how CommBank is inspiring more women to consider tech careers.

Small business digital boost

It’s not just students benefiting from CommBank’s community skilling initiatives, small businesses are too.

CommBank has partnered with Telstra and the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) to create Cyber Wardens, a simple educational tool designed to build a cyber-smart small business workforce. Launched in September last year, Kathryn sees it as an opportunity to galvanise the growing number of women in small business by educating them on how to protect their businesses from cyber threats. 

“We know that in Australia, we’ve got more than 2 million small businesses and a third of those are run by women,” Kathryn says. “In the time between 2006 and 2021, the number of female small business owners increased by 24 per cent and is continuing to grow. By helping them with things like cyber-prevention skills they can then scale up and focus on the key elements of the business that they’re trying to run, versus trying to protect themselves against evolving cyber threats.”

Reimagining a bright future

The career possibilities within tech are booming with digital skilling becoming deeply embedded into all facets of the economy.

“At CommBank, technology is central to everything we do for our customers. It’s a vibrant environment where our technologists can make a real impact and reimagine banking for our customers – while growing their career in a dynamic industry,” says Jane.

Work continues to uplift the nation’s digital skills, yet CommBank is starting to see encouraging signs, recently welcoming the biggest graduate intake across the bank into its technology team, with 206 new graduates joining across the in-demand fields of data, AI, cyber and engineering. Of these, 34 per cent were women, with an aim to keep raising this number and promising indicators for the 2025 graduate intake.

Some of the other ways the bank is reducing traditional barriers to getting into tech include a Technology Associates Program that provides an alternative entry pathway for tech students and people without formal qualifications who demonstrate aptitude in the area.

A Career Transition Program is offered for early career professional workers that want to reskill into tech, and Career Comeback provides a supportive and flexible option for new mothers returning to work after an extended absence.

“As the skills landscape evolves, we continue to review our community skilling initiatives to ensure we are investing in the areas that best meet the community’s needs to build a brighter future for all,” says Jane.

CommBank is proud to be the presenting partner for Vogue Codes 2024, demonstrating our commitment to promoting gender diversity and inclusion in STEM and encouraging more women to consider a career in tech.

To learn more about technology careers at CommBank, please go to: commbank.com.au/about-us/careers/technology