Suncorp is offering more than 700 staff an eight-week program designed to teach women the fundamentals of cloud computing.  

The insurer will implement the Amazon Web Services (AWS) CloudUp for Her Cloud Practitioner in-house training program, launching it with a series of in-person events in major capital cities. 

“We are blown away by the response which has seen 1 in 12 of our female employees put their hand up to take part in the first cohort,” Suncorp CIO Adam Bennett said, adding that around 70% were from non-technology roles and half from Queensland. 

“Our talent is our competitive advantage so this is not only an investment in them and their careers but helping shape our workforce of the future.” 

The initiative comes as the Australian Government aims to have 1.2 million technology-related jobs by 2030.  

Suncorp Project Manager Lori Richardson, who is taking part in the program, says she is "learning the language which will help me build credibility with my stakeholders”. 

"I also see this as a great entry point to think about what possibilities there might be for me in this field down the track.”  

Suncorp and AWS have worked together for the past decade on the insurer’s migration to the cloud, including its customer apps and pricing engine.  

Suncorp will exit its owned or leased data centres by early next year as it migrates 90% of its work to the cloud for faster service updates, better security and risk management capabilities, cost efficiencies, a more agile and resilient architecture and more positive customer experiences. 

“Suncorp will need employees that have the right cloud skills to help the organisation innovate. It’s inspiring to see a large number of women at Suncorp eager to start,” AWS MD Australia and New Zealand Rianne Van Veldhuizen said. 

"We’re committed to building and bringing a diverse pipeline of talent into the cloud workforce.”