A new grant program will help Victorian manufacturers develop the digital capabilities they need to maintain their competitive advantage by providing free training to employees.

Applications are now open for the $4.5 million Digital Jobs for Manufacturing program, which will help local manufacturers adapt to an increasingly digital world by providing hundreds of workers with sought after skills.

Global manufacturing is becoming increasingly technology-driven, requiring businesses to build up their digital expertise through a highly skilled workforce.

The program builds on the $64 million Digital Jobs program that is retraining 5,000 mid-career Victorians and supporting them to transition into a digital career.

Grants of up to $5,000 per employee are available to eligible manufacturing businesses to enrol nominated employees in free 12-week training courses with Victoria’s top universities, TAFEs and training providers.

The courses run part-time which means employees can continue working while they study, allowing them to learn a new digital skill and apply it to their role.

The Digital Jobs for Manufacturing Program provides funding to enrol a nominated employee in an industry-endorsed digital skills course in one of the following streams:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) / machine learning

• Cloud computing

• Customer relationship management (CRM)

• Cybersecurity

• Data analytics

• Digital marketing

• Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

• IT operations and support

• Product management

• Programming / software development

• Project management (agile)

• User experience design / User interface design (UX/UI)

• Web development

Ego Pharmaceuticals video

See how Ego Pharmaceuticals gained access to a new pool of talent to build its digital marketing capability through the Digital Jobs program.