Rocket graduates first Perth NextGen Academy intake

Rocket Software has graduated the first Australian intake of its NextGen Academy in Perth, with all 10 students accepting permanent roles at the company.

The group completed a full-time, six-month course focused on mainframe skills and early-career training. The intake included eight software engineers and two technical project managers, all of whom will remain based in Perth while working with local and international teams.

The hires come as employers in Australia and other markets face a shrinking pool of workers with mainframe experience, even as those systems remain embedded in banking, government and other large organisations. Companies that rely on them have been trying to attract younger engineers as older specialists approach retirement.

At Rocket, four engineers will join its infrastructure modernisation business and four will move into its data modernisation product team. The two technical project managers will work on client projects across Asia-Pacific.

Perth is the fifth location for the company's NextGen Academy program, following sites in the US, the UK, Lithuania and India. The Australian arm is designed to train participants for work linked to mainframe systems and related software environments.

Skills gap

Karla Bester, Country Manager Engineering at Rocket, said the program was shaped by the need to replenish technical expertise in a field that still supports critical operations.

"In Australia, mainframes are still essential to running critical operations in both the corporate and public sectors, and will continue to play a key role for the foreseeable future. However, a significant proportion of today's mainframe workforce is approaching retirement age, so initiatives like our NextGen Academy are helping bridge this emerging skills gap," said Karla Bester, Country Manager Engineering, Rocket Software.

She also pointed to the tension between rapid interest in newer tools and continued reliance on the older systems that support them.

"As organisations increasingly adopt AI and other new technologies, it's important we don't forget the infrastructure that supports them. We need people in the workforce who are familiar with these new technologies but also understand how that critical underlying infrastructure works," Bester said.

The curriculum combines technical foundations with practical work across enterprise software. It also focuses on the use of AI in learning, problem-solving and software development, alongside instruction from internal engineers and external trainers.

The program reflects a wider trend among technology companies and large IT users to create in-house academies and reskilling schemes rather than relying solely on universities or the external labour market. Mainframe work has often suffered from an image problem among younger technologists, even as many large institutions continue to run core applications on the platform.

Graduate roles

The graduates described the course as an introduction to a part of the technology sector that had received little attention in formal study.

"The NextGen Academy program and instructors were incredible, and it has opened my eyes to how critical mainframes are in running banking and government systems. It's given me hands-on experience in the technology and exposed me to languages and concepts we never touched at university," said Akhil Gorasia, Software Engineering Graduate, Rocket Software.

"I'm looking forward to playing a role in modernising mainframe development at Rocket using AI and other newer coding tools," Gorasia said.

Another graduate said the course changed his understanding of where mainframe work sits within modern software development.

"Before the NextGen Academy, I didn't even know the mainframe world existed. Now I'm hands-on with Assembly coding every day, working alongside the product team and seeing how real mainframe software is built and modernised," said Ben Conetta, Software Engineering Graduate, Rocket Software.

At the graduation ceremony in Perth, Guy Muller addressed the inaugural cohort as they moved into permanent roles within the business.

"Congratulations to our inaugural Australian graduates. Your engagement and passion are outstanding. Your ability to quickly learn new tools and deliver concrete projects is really impressive. You all passed with flying colours. We look forward to watching your progress and the impact you have as you embark on your mainframe career path at Rocket Software and beyond," said Guy Muller, Vice President, Software Engineering, Rocket Software.

Rocket employs more than 3,000 people globally and works with more than 13,500 customers and 850 partners, giving the Perth graduates a pathway into teams serving both Australian and international projects.