The Skills Accelerator is about practical action. It’s based on the idea that the best way to learn is by doing, in real settings, with peers, and with clear outcomes in mind.

Each sprint runs for 90 days, following a simple rhythm:

• Days 1–30: Ideate and select a project

• Days 31–60: Test and iterate

• Days 61–90: Evaluate – keep, pivot, or discard

At the end of each sprint, participating squads share what worked, what didn’t, and what others can learn from their journey. The result? A growing library of proven practices to help the VET sector build AI capability at scale.

Three themes, one goal

Our first sprint tackled three themes shaping AI adoption in VET:

• Building AI literacy and competence: Supporting educators to confidently and ethically use AI tools in their teaching and assessment.
• Organisational AI readiness: Developing governance, ethics, and policy frameworks to guide safe and effective use of AI.
• AI for fairness, simplicity and accessibility: Exploring how AI can improve inclusion, reduce administrative burden, and ensure equitable outcomes for learners.

For each theme, a squad was formed to bring together voices from training providers, industry and technology partners.

Inside the squads

Squad 1: AI literacy

This squad is diving into one of the sector’s biggest priorities: AI for assessment authenticity.Leveraging NextEd Group’s authenticity risk matrix, they are exploring practical ways to keep assessments fair, valid, and secure in an AI-enabled world. 

The conversation quickly broadened to include change management, and the adaptability skills educators need to thrive in our evolving landscape.

Squad 2: Organisational adoption

This squad is focusing on the building blocks of AI governance and security. They are working to develop agile governance templates and literacy benchmarks that help organisations move forward with confidence, balancing innovation with responsibility.

Squad 3: Equity and accessibility

This squad is exploring what equitable AI use looks like across people, processes, and practice. Their early focus is on creating a design framework to make AI accessible and beneficial for all learners.

Momentum and next steps

This sprint is just the beginning. Over the next 90 days, these squads will build MVPs and test their ideas in real-world settings, from AI-enabled learning tools to practical governance models, and share their progress through the FSO Collaboration Hub.

Sprint #2 kicks off on 28 October, with Sprint #3 to follow on 19 November 2025. Each sprint will identify new squads to test additional initiatives each month, while our current squads showcase their learnings and refine their prototypes.

Along the way, we will be highlighting what is possible when industry and education come together to co-create solutions.

As Lee Hickin, Executive Director at National AI Centre said: “Australia’s AI future depends on a national workforce that’s ready to adapt, learn and lead. By embedding AI learning into vocational education, this project ensures educators have the support to deliver practical, job-ready AI knowledge and skills.”

We invite VET leaders and their teams, industry, unions, and government to partner with us to accelerator AI skilling for VET learners, educators and administrators.

Learn more and register as a partner.