News

New short courses to retrain and upskill

Times of upheaval demand radical solutions, which is why ACU is turning the traditional approach to learning on its head.

To meet the challenges set by COVID-19, ACU has developed Opportunity Unlimited, a suite of short courses and micro-credentials to help Australians upskill or retrain, and to support people and services as our community transitions to new ways of working.

With additional backing from the Federal Government’s relief package, the new courses are designed to build key skills in a wide range of areas, starting with teaching and education, IT, public health, and sports science.

Australians seeking to further their professional skills, or build capacity in new areas, can apply for three different kinds of courses:

• Higher Education Certificate
• Unit tasters
• Professional learning opportunities

Higher Education Certificates are short online courses introducing students to traditional subject areas, with the option of transitioning later into a full degree. These will be offered initially in educational studies, teaching, public health, sports science and information technology.

Unit tasters picking up on where there is a need for additional learning, with an emphasis on areas of both emerging and established research, as well as our renowned learning and teaching.

Professional learning opportunities: tailored short course offerings which profile emergent and exciting research initiatives across the university on common themes that are of public interest.

Each of the new courses provides a boost to workplace skills as well as a pathway to further study.

ACU Provost Professor Zlatko Skrbis  said universities were constantly reinventing themselves to bring long traditions of expertise to new ways of learning.

“We have adapted swiftly to bring our coursework and professional environment online; the focus is equally on how we can help Australians who need to brush up their skills or learn some fresh ones to keep ahead of the workforce as it also adapts and changes.

“It is important for universities to take the lead in helping Australians deal with the effects of COVID-19 in their personal and professional lives.”

Find out more about ACU’s Opportunity Unlimited short courses here.