A program combining a tertiary qualification with paid employment in the tech industry is attracting more secondary school graduates each year, giving them a leg-up in their careers in software engineering.
Rianna Libdy and Ryan Takayasu are among a unique group of secondary-school graduates who are taking a novel approach to their careers in software engineering.
They are part of a program which combines university study at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) with practical learning in a full-time job at WiseTech Global, one of Australia’s top tech companies. Over four years, students in the WiseTech Global Earn & Learn program earn a university degree in computer science, are paid a competitive full-time salary, gain real-world experience, have university course fees reimbursed, and finish with no HECS debt.
Students are supported by a dedicated WiseTech team, and participate in WiseTech’s rotation program, working across different teams and projects to experience and develop skills under the guidance of senior software engineers.
The program is growing: starting with 30 participants in its first year (2023), then 52 in 2024, representing 73 per cent growth in the first two years. It aims to expand further in 2025, offering 100 places and plans to add more universities in the future.
Rianna joined Earn & Learn in 2023, as part of the program’s inaugural cohort. She is now in her second year of the program, and is helping mentor the 2024 intake, which includes Ryan.
She attended East Hills Girls Technology High School, a government school in south-west Sydney which offers STEM subjects, and completed IT subjects from Year 8 to 12, but had not done a lot of coding before joining Earn & Learn. Through her school, Rianna also competed in Grok Academy’s National Computer Science School Challenge (NCSS), a five-week online programming course and interactive problem-solving competition.
Her path into the Earn & Learn program began when she applied to university.
“When I looked at tech cadetships, I had the option to choose between going to a government job or going to WiseTech – I chose WiseTech,” she says.
As a female employee in the inaugural cohort, Rianna recognises she is a role model to her peers – 27 per cent of the 2024 Earn & Learn cohort are female (higher than the current participation rate for female software engineers in undergraduate programs, WiseTech says) – just as the company’s senior female engineers are role models for her.
She says she has enjoyed mentoring students because it provides an avenue to develop her soft skills, such as communication skills, alongside her programming ability.
“I definitely want to stay in the tech industry and go down a software engineering pathway, but I do love sharing knowledge and giving back to WiseTech through the mentoring program,” she says.
Her advice to secondary students considering a career in computer science is to get involved in tech-related challenges, like those offered at Grok Academy.
“If you find something that you’re passionate about, nurture it. Reach out to people and ask questions, because you don’t want to regret not pursuing something you might have potentially enjoyed,” she says.
Following in Rianna’s footsteps, Ryan is part of the Earn & Learn 2024 cohort, currently in their first year of the program.
Ryan attended Killarney Heights High School, a government co-ed school on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. He completed software design and development as a subject in Year 12 and pursued additional coding study online in his own time, including at Grok Academy, which wasn’t offered through his school.
Tossing up between pursuing further study in architecture or software programming, Ryan took the advice of his older sibling who is employed in the tech sector.
“He shared his experience and opened my eyes to the importance of computer science, and how it offers secure employment because tech is going to be needed in the future. I’m glad I chose this path. I’m currently doing a lot of front-end development, which is very different to what I’m used to – I’m learning a lot,” he says.
Ryan discovered WiseTech’s Earn & Learn program when he and a friend attended a UTS Open Day.
“That’s where I learned about the cadetship program that UTS offers, and the Earn & Learn program. I applied for both programs at the same time and was accepted into both.”
Only six months into his first year in the program, Ryan is enjoying the creative side of computer science.
“If I could become a full-stack developer, where I’m doing front-end and back-end, then I feel like that opens up opportunities to use my creativity to problem-solve,” he says.
Unlocking a future in tech
Former maths and computer science teacher and software engineer Matthew Kameron leads the Earn & Learn program at WiseTech.
With more than 15 years’ experience as a senior leader in software companies and secondary schools, he knows better than most the critical role teachers play in raising awareness of the career opportunities and pathways available in the tech sector.
“I think this program is unique in Australia, and to a large extent, in the world,” he says.
“The program is designed to fast-track their technical knowledge and give them as much exposure and experience in the workplace as we can, to build their skills. The workplace requires a lot of technical expertise, so we focus on building that quickly.”
Participants rotate through four different product development teams, spending four months with each; there are about 130 software development teams in the company, so every student in the Earn & Learn program is exposed to a different four teams.
“We ensure they have diverse experiences. Some will join a team working on our established, world-leading products; others will join teams working with cutting-edge new products under development. After four rotations, they select which team they’d like to join, and they’ll stay with WiseTech indefinitely, including once they graduate university. Their employment with us is a permanent contract, so they can stay with us as long as they want,” Mr Kameron says.
Mr Kameron urges secondary school teachers to be mindful of stereotyping when considering what type of student might be suited to the program.
“We don’t want teachers to be limited by stereotypes. The main thing is to have an open mind, look for students who are switched on and enjoy thinking and enjoy asking difficult questions. These are the kind of kids who, when you teach them a concept, they ask ‘why’ questions,” he says.
“One thing we see in the workplace with the Earn & Learn groups is that for many of them, it’s the first time in their lives they’re among other people with common interests, yet still diverse and varied. WiseTech is a place where it’s cool to think, it’s cool to be creative. Everyone is welcoming and supportive.”
Applications for the 2025 intake for WiseTech Earn & Learn are now open. To find out more go to www.wisetechglobal.com/earn-and-learn
