How we are upskilling our people to drive our business into the future

By Kate Aitken

Optus U is about embracing and sharing new skills that drive a difference for our customers, people and business.

Continuous learning is the key to any career development plan and a diverse set of skills provides mobility to move forward in your career. We want our employees to frame their own future, unleash their potential and take pride in their career.

To help make this happen, we’ve joined forced with high-profile partners across Australia to enhance and expand our people’s skill sets through recognised certifications and accreditations.

We want learning to be fun and rewarding, which is why in addition to micro-credentials, Optus U will future-proof our people through an engaging lecture and guest speaker series called ‘U Talks’, plus practical workshops and innovative research projects where our people can collaborate and learn new skills directly from one another.

How does it work?

We have partnered with La Trobe University and Macquarie University to create bespoke curriculums and deliver five micro-credential programs that focus on the skills needed to drive our business to future success. Additional industry and education partners are set to come onboard over the next few months. 

To ensure an appropriate balance for our people, they will be supported with study leave, access to coaches and business sponsors while they undertake the courses which will be delivered through a blend of digital and face-to-face learning.

What are the students saying?

Hear below directly from Optus employees enrolled at Optus U on their experiences so far:

Kate Brodie, Senior Manager, AI Products 

• “Optus has given me many opportunities to make an impact, apply and grow my skills in digital transformation, AI, product management, strategy and more. Optus U will allow me to apply the latest strategic frameworks to leveraging AI across the business, challenge and expand my thinking to make more impact for our customers and people.”

Rhonda Thompson, Senior Manager, Consumer Ops Automation and Support

• “Optus U has given me a fantastic opportunity to upskill and keep myself current. I’m a more mature employee and would not bother to go out and do a university course on my own, but with Optus bringing it to me, I have the opportunity to continue to learn and in turn benefit the company with my new skills and knowledge.”

Vincent Li, Senior Business Intelligence Analyst

• “Accredited courses not only provide the knowledge that we need through the subject, its academic-proven course structure also enhances the effectiveness of adoption.”

Isobel Fraser, Cyber Security Governance Coordinator

• “Optus U plays an essential role in developing future skill sets required for interpreting data. Using analytics to convey messages effectively, it is vital for growth in the cyber security governance area.”