Keen to broaden her range of skills

After relocating to Queensland in February, COVID-19 lockdown has certainly made settling into a new home, a new job, and a new lifestyle challenging for Vanessa. But lockdown has in fact unlocked a new love of learning and is affording her the opportunity to broaden her accounting skills – turning uncertainty into opportunity post-pandemic.

Realising she needed to update and enhance her skills to comply with current industry standards to find work, Vanessa decided to first dip her toe in the water by enrolling in a Cyber Security Essentials (MCC00014) micro-credentials short course. To her credit, Vanessa quickly found the confidence to take her training to a new level and enrolled in the Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping (FNS40217).

"I'd always intended to do the Certificate IV but I thought I'd do the micro-credential because I wanted to get a feel for what study would be like," Vanessa said.

"I'd definitely recommend micro-credential training. For those leaving school, it gives a great insight into further study and working life; for those changing careers it helps you learn about the working environment you are going into, and it could enhance job security and facilitate a promotion for those in the workforce."

"It certainly gave me the confidence to pursue further study to help me land the job that I am hoping for," she said.

When Vanessa first heard about the cyber security skill set she knew that the knowledge would be useful, both personally and professionally.

"I’ve learned a lot working for many years, but I don’t assume I know everything. I thought the cyber security micro-credential would provide an ideal opportunity to learn about topics that future employers will find beneficial," Vanessa said.

“I’ve enhanced my knowledge of the working environment, that’s for sure. While I’m proficient in using Microsoft Office it was interesting to learn about other technologies that can enhance a business’s success.”

“I can now confidently recognise dubious web-sites and emails, understand the threats they pose and have experience in using the technology and tools that can safeguard against them. Consequently, my new skills will definitely help me to assist an employer, like a small business owner, who perhaps doesn’t have the time to learn about cyber security themselves,” she said.

TAFE Queensland’s range of micro-credentials and skills sets are aimed at not only enabling workers that were stood down during the pandemic to gain new skills, but also upskilling existing workers, allowing them to adapt to the changing demands of their workplaces, their industries, and their communities.

New micro-credentials have been added to TAFE Queensland's offerings, with more industries and skills now included. These skill sets are fully subsidised by the Queensland Government and are available to Queensland residents who have been impacted by COVID-19.