19 February 2026
By Siobhan O’Sullivan, FSO Skills Accelerator-AI
The FSO Skills Accelerator-AI is turning AI’s potential into practice, at pace, by bringing together VET and industry leaders to connect, collaborate and share best practices.
As AI reshapes workplaces and skills requirements, the VET sector needs practical ways to respond. Across the Skills Accelerator, partner conversations are evolving – shifting from asking “What is AI?” to exploring how it can transform their work and the wider sector.
Early questions of “Is it safe?” and “How does it work?” are giving way to practical challenges:
- How we use AI to better prepare learners for complex, real‑world work
- How we identify and support students earlier, at scale
- How educators stay aligned with rapidly evolving industry practice
Each 90‑day Skills Accelerator Action Learning Sprint connects VET and industry to co-design and test real-world applications, expanding access to AI skills for VET learners, educators and administrators.
Sprints continue to build momentum because the foundations are strong: the best way to learn is by doing, in real settings, with peers, and with clear outcomes in mind.
In Sprint #3, we noticed a readiness to move from experimentation to application.
A shift in sector needs
Across the first two Sprints, the focus was on building foundational confidence: AI literacy, governance, assessment integrity and organisational readiness.
Sprint #3 marks a turning point, with three clear signals emerging:
- Learning must reflect real‑world complexity, not simplified classroom scenarios
- Student success requires earlier, data‑informed intervention, not manual, reactive processes
- Educators need current, credible reference points for how AI is used across industries and disciplines
Operational needs – not abstract ambitions – continue to shape our approach, guiding partners to co-design Sprint projects that tackle real-world VET challenges.
Project 1: Preparing learners for complex, high-stakes interactions
Project 1 tackles a challenge across community services, healthcare and frontline roles: preparing learners for difficult interpersonal situations where judgement, empathy and communication matter as much as technical skill.
The project explores how AI‑enabled simulations can create realistic, assessable scenarios where learners can safely rehearse responses to distressed, aggressive or vulnerable individuals. The goal is experiential, adaptive learning that better mirrors industry reality.
Project 2: Scaling student success through early insight
This project explores how AI‑enabled analytics can sharpen insights into student progression, allowing educators to intervene earlier and more effectively.
The potential impact is significant: reduced administrative burden, improved student outcomes and a more proactive model of learner support. Importantly, the focus is on augmenting educator judgement with better information.
Project 3: Understanding AI use by industry and discipline
Project 3 responds to a foundational gap: the lack of shared understanding of how AI is actually used across industries. It is testing a proof of concept to document real-world AI use cases, the tasks they support, and the resulting skill impacts across disciplines.
The goal is not to predict the future of work, but to ground education in present‑day industry practice, giving educators confidence to design learning that is relevant, credible and future‑facing.
What’s next
Partners will work together on these projects to co-design, test, and scale solutions, sharing the learnings across the network.
The Skills Accelerator is turning experimentation into practical approaches that help the VET workforce use AI confidently and responsibly, while helping learners access more relevant, industry-aligned training.
Become a Skills Accelerator partner and join a growing network of hundreds of VET and industry partners shaping the future of AI in VET.