Through Professional Edge, HEA brings students and employers together around a shared goal: building workforce capability now and into the future. Organisations that partner with HEA gain supported access to prepared emerging talent, capability-building support for their people and opportunities to draw on HEA expertise and delivery support around defined business needs. 

A practical partnership – where value and effort are shared 

Professional Edge is built around genuine participation. Employers identify real business needs and paid, course-relevant roles. HEA prepares students, introduces relevant candidates and remains connected as they build workplace capability. Your organisation retains control of recruitment, employment and performance decisions. 

What your organisation can gain 

• Supported Prepared emerging talent and a future pipeline: Meet students who are building postgraduate IT capability and professional readiness through individual coaching, SFIA-aligned capability mapping and workplace mentoring. 

• Capability that contributes now: Shape paid, course-relevant roles around genuine work in areas such as data, systems, IT operations, project support, change, governance and analysis. 

• A supported engagement: HEA continues to coach the student and supports the nominated workplace mentor, reducing the development burden on your team. 

• A flexible capability return: Depending on the agreed partnership arrangement, HEA can return value through Master of IT places, microcredentials, Recognition of Prior Learning or mentor development – directed towards your organisation’s capability needs. 

• Access to broader HEA expertise: For qualifying partnerships, the relationship may also extend to expert-led project support and academic capability aligned with defined organisational challenges. 

How the partnership works 

1. Start with your needs: HEA works with you to identify genuine business needs and shape suitable paid, course-relevant roles. 

2. Meet relevant candidates: HEA prepares students and makes relevant introductions. Your organisation conducts its own recruitment process and decides who, if anyone, it employs. 

3. Support the workplace engagement: Your organisation nominates a workplace mentor, supported by HEA. The student remains an employee of your organisation under normal employment conditions. 

4. Build capability within your organisation: As part of the partnership, HEA provides agreed study and professional-development options for your people, aligned with the workforce capabilities you want to build. 

The kinds of roles that may fit 

The right role is defined by genuine business need. Depending on your organisation and the student’s capability, relevant work may sit within data and business intelligence; business, systems or process analysis; IT support and systems administration; project coordination, implementation and change; quality assurance and testing; or governance, risk, compliance and digital improvement. 

Employer expression of interest 

Tell us a little about your organisation and how you may want to participate. A member of the HEA partnerships team will contact you to explore fit and next steps. 

Student participation and access to roles remain subject to student readiness, role availability and employer selection. Participating employers remain responsible for recruitment, remuneration, supervision and compliance with workplace law.