RMIT will partner with Qantas to establish a national first safety academy, upskilling professionals across all high reliability sectors in Australia, including transport, energy and medicine.
The Qantas Group Safety Academy is set to launch in 2025, offering online or in-person programs to upskill leaders, safety professionals and entry level workers.
The courses have been designed in collaboration with RMIT and Griffith universities, leveraging Qantas' industry expertise, and will develop a new national standard to support safety critical industries.
The suite of micro credentials will allow students to rapidly upskill in safety culture, risk management, data management, cyber safety and human safety factors including sleep and fatigue management.
The programs complement RMIT's existing aviation training and education, comprising nearly 100 study pathways, which will be available to Academy graduates who may choose to explore credit transfers for higher post-graduate qualifications.
The Academy's offer is planned to expand throughout 2026 to offer accredited post graduate qualifications and advanced research programs to benefit industry through the establishment of a Centre of Safety Excellence.
RMIT Aviation has operated for more than 80 years. It expanded to regional Victoria in 2019, providing training in Bendigo to help meet skills demands in Australia and abroad. RMIT has the largest fleet of aircraft in the higher education sector in Australia.
Prospective students and employers can register their expression of interest here.
Quotes attributable to RMIT Aviation Academy Director Lea Vesic
"RMIT's partnership with Qantas is testament to the quality of our training and leadership - not just in producing job-ready graduates but fostering collaboration across the sector.
"The new Qantas Safety Academy will utilise our training expertise to build a pipeline of safety leaders who have a broad set of critical skills.
"These types of industry partnerships - and innovative training delivery - will be even more critical as we look to futureproof the aviation industry in Australia."
Quotes attributable to Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson
"Safety and training have been part of Qantas' DNA since our first flight back in 1922.
"The new Qantas Group Safety Academy will help upskill a generation of safety and risk professionals, leaning on Qantas's century of practical experience with safety leadership and the academic expertise of RMIT and Griffith University."
Quotes attributable to Dean (Academic) Griffith Sciences Group Professor Rosalind Archer
"Griffith is an industry leader in the area of safety science where we can offer a combination of leadership, science and social science across a multidisciplinary and multi-industry platform.
"This is not a cookie cutter approach to safety science, but micro credentials with depth which offers a post graduate learning environment for professionals who want to advance their careers and take the next step."
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