Coffs students log into largest AI work placement

SIX Years 11 and 12 students from Coffs Harbour have completed NSW’s largest virtual work placement.

They were among 500 from across the state logging on from work hubs to learn about artificial intelligence (AI) from tech mentors at Amazon Web Services, CommBank, IBM, ANZ, and Accenture – gaining placement hours for their Certificate II in Information and Digital Technology.

The week-long placement was themed, “AI in Industry and the Future of Work,” and gave students valuable insights into how artificial intelligence is shaping modern workplaces.

Students explored cutting-edge topics such as Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Cyber Security, gaining first-hand experience of real-world applications and emerging career pathways.

Orara High School students Ahkeem Baytieh and Matias Vera Cooke were among those taking part.

Ahkeem said he learned a lot about how AI can help people through everyday life, such as setting alarms.

“We looked at how CommBank uses something so simple like this type of AI and how effective it is in helping a lot of people sort out their schedules and their entire day.

“By using this type of AI you are able to have free time to just do other stuff, particularly outside of work.”

Working on a project, the students looked at how AI is used in agriculture to help farmers plan for harvest and crop production.

“We [came] to realise that AI is going to be used more to supplement our work in the future and not actually replace us, which is really good, because then we can keep working and not have someone do all the work for us.”

Matias commented on learning about how Amazon Web Services and CommBank are using AI and how it can be effective in future jobs and customer service.

“AI is a more pivotal tool and path for businesses heading into the digital future,” he said.

“We designed an app that would forecast the weather and temperatures and basically have everything all in one spot for a farmer to use while doing their job.

“We also looked at other apps and other websites that already had this type of technology.

“For example, we accessed some government funded apps that would track farm animals, for instance cows, and it would tell the farmer the weight of their cows, when they had been immunised, and basically the whole lifestyle of the cow and how they were going.”

The 2025 Vocational Education and Training (VET) Virtual Work Placement Program aims to help address the projected shortfall of 85,000 digital workers in Australia by 2030.

By Andrea FERRARI