20 March 2026
By Siobhan O’Sullivan, FSO Skills Accelerator-AI
AI is reshaping industries worldwide – so how can we upskill Australians with the AI capabilities needed to thrive?
The FSO Skills Accelerator-AI is tackling this question head-on, running short, hands-on Action Learning Sprints that bring RTO leaders, industry experts, and technology providers together to test practical solutions to real-world VET challenges.
Across the first three sprints, the conversation has evolved – from building AI literacy and governance to exploring practical experimentation and real-world application.
Sprint #4 shifted the format: instead of partners presenting challenges, it took the form of a Reverse Pitch, where AI solution providers pitched their solutions to Skills Accelerator partners, giving insight into how AI can enhance teaching, learning, and operational workflows.
Seeing what’s possible
Before new technology arrives, people naturally imagine improvements to what they already know. Before smartphones, we pictured smaller, cooler mobile phones – not the ecosystems of entertainment, banking, navigation and learning we now carry in our pockets.
AI is creating a similar moment for education. The first instinct is to ask how it can make existing processes faster, but the opportunity is much broader.
Sprint #4 was designed to help the sector see what’s possible. When people see technology working in practice, they begin asking: “How could this work in our organisation?”
Collaboration across the ecosystem
The sprint brought together a diverse group of innovators working at the intersection of education and AI, including Turnitin, Insurgence, Deloitte, SupaHuman, GenLearn, Catapult, Antares, AccountingPod, SkillGenix, CareerHive, RTO Radar and Red Velvet AI.
All 12 vendors were given five minutes to pitch their solution, highlighting the education challenge, how AI was applied, early learnings, potential risks, and the opportunity for Skills Accelerator partners to trial the solution.
The session wasn’t about product promotion – it was about collaborative testing and exploring how AI can support better learning, stronger teaching, and more effective organisational systems.
Solutions spanned across a range of education workflows, including:
- Assessment authenticity and academic integrity
- AI-supported curriculum and course design
- Student mentoring and learner support
- Recognition of prior learning (RPL)
- Industry-based learning scenarios
- Organisational knowledge assistants
- Compliance and workforce management tools
Collectively, the Sprint #4 vendors committed more than $1.2 million in technology access, expertise and development support to help the VET sector explore opportunities.
The event received the highest satisfaction rating of any Skills Accelerator sprint, highlighting the value of seeing practical technology in action.
What this means for the sector
Sprint #4 reinforced that AI adoption will not happen through policy documents alone. It will happen through experimentation, collaboration and shared learning.
By bringing educators, industry and technology providers together to test ideas in practical settings, the Skills Accelerator is helping the sector build the confidence and evidence needed to move forward responsibly.
And perhaps most importantly, it allows the sector to explore new possibilities together.
Not simply faster versions of existing processes. But entirely new ways of doing things.
Because when it comes to AI, the most effective way to build capability is still the simplest – see it, test it, share what works and then continue learning together.
Become a Skills Accelerator partner and join a growing network of hundreds of VET and industry partners shaping the future of AI skilling.