Digital transformation is coming for roles across your business. The question isn't whether to act, it's whether you act before the crisis, or during it.
THE CHALLENGE
One of Australia's largest private employers with over 200,000 staff and some of the country's most recognised retail brands was facing a workforce challenge playing out in slow motion. Digital transformation was projected to make significant volumes of non-technical roles redundant over the next decade. Meanwhile, the group's technology business needed to scale rapidly and reduce its dependence on expensive senior contractors.
They had the ambition and the capital including a $50 million Future of Work Fund committed to reskilling. What they didn't have was a proven mechanism to convert that investment into real outcomes. Previous bootcamp-style programmes hadn't delivered. The engineering teams were sceptical. And there was no clear structural model for how internal talent could transition into technical roles at scale.
The pressure was twofold: protect the workforce you have, and build the engineering capability you need. We were asked to solve both at once.
THE SOLUTION
We designed a pilot programme targeting twelve employees from the Customer Hub a team with strong transferable skills in communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder management and transitioned them into Junior Engineer roles within the technology business.
Our selection process was built on potential, not prior technical experience. We developed co-branded internal communications, ran targeted information sessions, and created a bespoke assessment process aligned to the engineering team's preferences. Over 100 internal applicants came forward in four weeks.
The curriculum was co-designed with engineering leads: Azure, C#, Cloud, and JavaScript front-end development the exact stack the teams needed. Because these employees already knew the business, the products, and the culture, onboarding was immediate. They were contributing from day one.
IMPACT
The pilot has driven a genuine culture shift within the engineering team. Internal mobility is now seen as a credible and exciting pathway. Morale across the wider workforce improved. The model is actively being considered for rollout across the organisation which means the 12 we started with could become hundreds.
WHAT THE CLIENT SAID
“Digital capabilities are critical in the new era of our business and our Tech Accelerator Program is just part of our commitment to invest $50 million to help equip our team members with the skills to match the retail industry of the future. We're immensely proud of the participants' commitment and success throughout the program.”
— Senior Leadership, Group Technology