Arq Group upskills staff with Swinburne Uni partnership

Digital services provider Arq Group has partnered with Swinburne University of Technology to launch an in-house corporate training academy to help upskill its internal staff.

Arq Group was the former enterprise division of the ASX-listed hosting provider now known as Webcentral and previously known as Melbourne IT. The division was acquired by a consortium that includes its current leadership team and investment firm Quadrant Private Equity.

With ARQademy, Arq Group aims to give its 400 employees a chance to study and upskill for free through a customised graduate certificate, which consists of “industry co-created micro units”.

Micro units are courses delivered in a length similar to the delivery of an AWS certification but through Swinburne’s system and taught by Swinburne faculty.

The partnership is formally forged through a four-year memorandum of understanding, consisting of multiple two-year classes. The first class featured 18 Arq staff, all of whom started in late August.

Arq chief executive Tristan Sternson claimed the program was a first for the tech industry in Australia.

“All of our consultants are experts in their field, but we want everyone who works at Arq Group to understand the full offering, not just their area of expertise. This is key to ensuring that we continue to make a positive impact for all of our customers,” Sternson told CRN.

“We don’t see this as a cost but an investment in our staff and our business. Whether you are working as a designer, project manager, engineer, sales or operations, over time we want all of our staff to graduate from the ARQademy,”

Sternson told CRN the program was a culmination of a lengthy partnership with Swinburne, adding to the university’s ongoing involvement with corporates.

Swinburne vice-chancellor Pascale Quester said the partnership represents the university’s commitment to developing and delivering education co-created with industry and directly relevant to an evolving workforce.

“This partnership further positions Swinburne as a leader in training people from all backgrounds to be prepared for the future of work. We understand that learning is a lifelong process and that education is important for anyone, at any stage of their career,” she said.

“We are delighted to partner with ARQ Academy who shares this vision.”