About Us
Meet the team and learn about our ethos and story.
Who We Are
Real Skills Education (RSE) is a not-for-profit, Sydney-based organisation, that aims to equip the STEM university students of today, with the skills and industry experience for the workplace of tomorrow.
We are a leading STEM education provider, collaborating frequently with leading industry companies and universities to run bespoke programs, events and workshops throughout the year.
Through our work, we provide opportunities for students to gain practical industry experience, develop their professional skills and network with like-minded individuals.
Our Mission
Our Vision
Our Values
G
Give before you take
I
Inspire success
F
Fail, but fail forward
T
Try all the flavours of the ice cream
Our Board of Directors provides and monitors Real Skills’ strategic direction, objectives as well as the organisation’s position and performance, in conjunction with the Leadership Team.
Our Leadership Team is the link between our Board of Directors and our Operational Team. Throughout 2021 and bringing forward to 2022, they have dedicated themselves to running the organisation and managing each of their respective functions, to ensure successful implementations of our strategy.
The Real Skills People & Talent team assists RSE to realise its full potential through supporting and developing talents within the team. We do this by working in line with the internal strategy of RSE: Empower every RSE member through improved training and operational infrastructure to create a supportive work environment conducive to self-development.
The Real Skills Partnerships team is the link between RSE and the industry. To execute our events and programs, we need industry partners. The function mainly focuses on securing partnerships with the industry through personal relationships and liaising with partners to ensure their needs are met.
The Real Skills Marketing team strategizes initiatives to grow awareness for our brand, events and program. From writing and designing content to communicate our brand to curating and finding memes for our campaigns, the marketing team is constantly looking for new ways to improve engagement across our social channels (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Medium and Instagram).
The Real Skills Careers team focuses on the planning and execution of programs and events through collaboration with universities and companies by building a relationship with the students and industry leaders to upskill and provide insights into both worlds.
Our Story
Founded in 2016, our team of student volunteers has been driven by our mission to supplement and improve STEM education to suit current expectations in professionalism and employability.
Founding Story
“When I started Real Skills, it wasn’t a business. It was a guy helping his friends cope with the adversities of learning, finding a job and meeting people.
Technology is our greatest strength but it’s also causing one of the steepest learning periods of our generation. The workplace is rapidly changing and the skill sets required for jobs changing with them. Yet, through no fault of their own — the very institutions that train us for these workplaces can’t keep up.
There needed to be something to help students adapt and bridge this gap between the rapidly changing workplace and the vocational education they were provided.
We train amazing talent and help companies connect with them. We provide the real skills. We are the bridge.”
Ajay Prakash
Founder & CEO at EntryLevel
Forbes Asia 30U30
2016
Ajay Prakash and Walter Kong took their shared experiences in the job search, and interest in improving professional development education, to co-found Real Skills Education in early 2015.
Our first-ever program, 'The Winter Industry Program' was held at UTS.
Launch of our first pilot STEM Leaders Program.
2017
Our team grows to 15.
Our Board of Directors is formed.
2018
The 2018 Winter STEM Leaders Program was held with a record of 84 participants from over 210 applicants.
Our international program 'Engineering Power-Up Program' kicked off.
2019
Partnered with Deloitte for our first hackathon with Femetech.
Collaborated with Femetech for their conference, introducing the STEM projects expo in October.
2020
The first online STEM Leaders Program was a success in July.
Expanded our offerings with an addition of a new program, 'STEM Careers Launchpad'.
2021
Launch of our first biotech case competition, in collaboration with BioLink.
2022
Our first-year Engineering course collaboration with WSU commences.