Rocket Software's NextGen Academy graduates first Australian students

Modernisation software provider Rocket Software has announced its first intake of students has graduated from Rocket’s NextGen Academy in Australia. 

The cohort of 10 early-career technologists – two technical project managers and eight software engineers – completed Rocket Software’s full-time, six-month immersive course, which was marked by a graduation ceremony in Perth.

The 10 NextGen Academy graduates have accepted permanent roles at Rocket Software, all based in Perth working with both local and global Rocket teams.

Four engineers will be working in Rocket’s infrastructure modernisation business, the other four engineers joining Rocket’s data modernisation product team, and the two project managers working on Rocket’s client projects across Asia-Pacific.

Rocket Software’s Australian NextGen Academy is the fifth location in the world for this international education program after the USA, UK and Lithuania, and most recently India.

It is designed to prepare participants with the essential mainframe skills, hands-on experience, and knowledge needed for careers across the broader tech industry, supporting modernisation initiatives and addressing global workforce needs.

The NextGen Academy curriculum blends technical foundations with practical experience across the enterprise software ecosystem and places a strong focus on how to apply AI to accelerate learning, problem‑solving and day‑to‑day development workflows. Learning is delivered by a mix of industry‑recognised instructors and Rocket Software’s most experienced engineers.

“In Australia, mainframes are still essential in running critical operations in both the corporate and public sector, and will continue to play a key role for the foreseeable future. However, a significant proportion of today’s mainframe workforce is approaching retirement age, so initiatives like our NextGen Academy are bridging this emerging skills gap,” said Karla Bester, country manager of engineering for Rocket Software.

“As organisations increasingly adopt AI and other new technologies, it’s important we don’t forget about the infrastructure that supports them. We need people in the workforce who are familiar with these new technologies but also understand how that critical underlying infrastructure works.”