OpenLearning and Canva to Bridge Australia’s Tech Skills Gap with CS101

Sydney, 11 October 2021 - OpenLearning is pleased to welcome global visual communications platform Canva as an industry partner for CS101, a new Computer Science micro-credential that brings together leading tech companies, industry experts and educators to enable anyone to learn Computer Science and work in the digital economy.

According to a recent study by Accenture and the TechCouncil, Australia will need an additional 60,000 tech workers per year over the next five years while only 7,000 students graduated with a technology-related degree in 2019, leading to a severe skills shortage that could limit the growth of the sector. 

CS101, short for 'Computer Science 101', will tackle this issue by targeting young adults and working professionals from diverse backgrounds, equipping them with essential skills and knowledge so they are able to ‘learn how to learn’ and adapt to new programming languages and technologies to meet the evolving needs of society.

Canva plans to make CS101 available to selected individuals, in particular those that may be considering a career change or who have been out of work for a while. Canva is rapidly expanding its team by providing both graduate jobs and internship opportunities, and sees CS101 as a way for people with both traditional and non-traditional education backgrounds to move into the tech sector. 

The course content draws upon Canva’s technical expertise in running a global platform supporting more than 60 million users as well as its experience building and scaling engineering teams to ensure that CS101 equips learners with in-demand skills while enabling them to adapt to the rapidly changing world of technology.

‍

"We're excited to partner with OpenLearning to help the next generation of talent develop digital skills in a non-traditional way and for it to be recognised in our hiring efforts. We strongly believe that bringing together diversity of thoughts, perspectives and experiences is essential to building world-class teams. We're committed to championing opportunities for those with diverse backgrounds and look forward to sharing our insights and knowledge with OpenLearning participants.” --Amy Schultz, Global Head of Talent Acquisition, Canva

“We're excited to partner with Canva to expand access to computer science skills through CS101 and we’re grateful for their support and feedback on the program. As the digital economy grows, we must ensure that it is representative of our society and that there are a range of pathways into the sector for people at every stage of their career. By drawing on Canva's experience in building world-class software and a high performing team, we will ensure that CS101 is meeting the needs of tomorrow while providing strong foundations in computational thinking and programming.” --Adam Brimo, Founder and Group CEO, OpenLearning Limited

Designed to be completed in just 12 weeks part-time, the first course CS101: Programming and Computational Thinking, will start on 18th October 2021 and covers foundational skills, including computational thinking, complex problem solving, programming, logic, algorithms, automation, micro-processors, professional practice and ethics. 

Upon successful completion of the course, learners will receive an OpenCred in the form of a digital credential that includes both a badge and a certificate that can be shared on social media.

‍

‍

The design of CS101 is being led by OpenLearning Founder and CTO David Collien and is built on OpenLearning’s lifelong learning platform, utilising a socially constructive approach to deliver a transformative learning experience. In addition to activity and project-based learning, CS101 will have a vibrant community of practice facilitated by computer scientists and virtual small weekly consultation groups for learners to exchange ideas and solve problems together.