81: Tackling the Digital Skills Shortage – Gail Bray

An inspiring conversation with returning guest, Gail Bray, which goes well beyond following up on what happened next with Project 100 which she spoke about in Episode 8 almost three years ago.  Gail continued to innovate on this project, exploring technologies such as robotics and Virtual Reality.  She now works squarely in innovation and technology as the Director of a secondary technical school which is hosted by Victoria University.  We explore partnerships between industry, schools and educational institutions as a means to prepare students for the future – and address the innovation and digital skills needs of industry.

• The use of Agile practices as ‘normal’ practice
• How Project 100 positioned the organisation well for COVID
• Addressing the fear of failure to take risks and communicate your way through roadblocks
• The value of confidence, courage and grit
• The creation of an innovation space at Sunshine Skills Hub, Victoria University Polytechnic – to support project-based learning and industry partnerships with TAFE
• Gail’s role as Director of Wyndham Tech School – where industry, community and education intersect
• The importance of project-based learning and how it supports industry/educational sector collaboration and the development of a talent pipeline with digital skills
• How to find partners for industry/educational sector collaboration and set them up for success
• Addressing the challenge of a lack of knowledge in digital skills space across parents, school leaders and industry.