Datacom Graduate Programs

At Datacom we have over 6,500 people across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, The United States, and the United Kingdom - generating over $1.1 billion annually. We create diverse, cutting-edge, and sustainable solutions for our clients, so they can better connect with theirs. Datacom design, build and run IT systems and process for businesses, support existing legacy IT systems and processes, and custom-design brand new ones. With scope that broad there is a career opportunity for everyone!

‘I strongly believe we all own the success of this company. We can be proud of the work we’re doing with our customers.’ GD Greg Davidson - Chief executive officer, Datacom Group

Our purpose is to help our customers and communities navigate the complexity of this ever-changing world we live in, by connecting people and technology, and solving their greatest challenges. With more than 50 years’ experience in technology, we have grown to be one of Australasia’s leading, locally owned technology company.

Our people, built on a foundation of strong values, are some of the most experienced in the tech industry and partner with customers from large government agencies to commercial businesses to transform their organisations from idea to delivery.

We help customers who want a hybrid cloud approach or to utilise multiple clouds with our private cloud infrastructure. This enables us to collaborate and complement public cloud providers.

We have long recognised the importance of quality software as a service (SaaS) products and have a range of SaaS solutions. This includes DataPay and EasiPay, which enable customers to manage and process their own payroll or outsource to a specialist payroll team.

We also have Datascape, a cloud-based enterprise software for local government and councils, which help more than 70 local government organisations better connect to their citizens.

Datacom’s success is built on our customers’ success. Our focus on our customers is at the heart of who we are. We pride ourselves on the range of our offerings, the depth of our expertise and breadth of technology partnerships.

Datacom has a wide range of partnerships with leading organisations in hardware, software, and other IT products. Like Microsoft, AWS, Google, Apple, Atlasian, Dell, CISCO (to name a few!) We work hard to build partnerships with the world's most innovative technology providers, large and small, so we can offer the right solutions for our clients.

These partnerships ensure that we stay abreast of technology and industry trends, take advantage of training and certification programmes and deliver the best customer experience possible.

Each year Datacom release an annual review which celebrates the stories about our customers, partners, and people. You can read more about what we’ve achieved this year in our Annual Review.

Datacom’s culture relies on your fresh thinking to bring new ways of changing the world using technology. We look for focused graduates who are collaborative, innovative and driven by their passion – most importantly we want you to have fun!

With this in mind we support our graduates to be their best, most authentic selves at work by focusing on 4 key pillars of support. 

• Community: Ensuring you are connected with your peers, leadership and international counter parts in NZ.
• Growth: Access to a clear career path. We are a meritocracy so believe in progression based on your performance not strict timelines and process. 
• Development: We have a huge array of both technical and professional training, including certifications and bootcamps to help you build your core skills and progress towards specialization.
• Impact: Datacom strongly believes in providing opportunities for you to contribute in a meaningful way. Whether that is within your team, volunteering or supporting an internal program like our Pride network.

Our aim is to build a workforce of talent, comfortable driving their own career, so rather than creating barriers with strict timelines and rules you will be free to learn, grow and challenge yourself in an environment geared towards your success.

What are we looking for?

We hire diverse students. Whether you have a degree, diploma, certification or tech micro credentials. We will have a role for you. 

Your education is less important to us then you as a person. So if you are;

• A self-starter – motivated and passionate about Technology 
• A great communicator 
• Able to problem solve and think outside of the box
• Motivated with a great attitude. 

“I can teach anyone to code… what I can’t teach is attitude” – Greg Davidson (Australia New Zealand CEO)

Datacom’s culture relies on your fresh thinking to bring new ways of changing the world using technology. We look for focused graduates who are collaborative, innovative and driven by their passion – most importantly we want you to have fun!

With this in mind we support our graduates to be their best, most authentic selves at work by focusing on 4 key pillars of support. 

Community: Ensuring you are connected with your peers, leadership and international counter parts in NZ.

Growth: Access to a clear career path. We are a meritocracy so believe in progression based on your performance not strict timelines and process. 

Development: We have a huge array of both technical and professional training, including certifications and bootcamps to help you build your core skills and progress towards specialization.

Impact: Datacom strongly believes in providing opportunities for you to contribute in a meaningful way. Whether that is within your team, volunteering or supporting an internal program like our Pride network.

Datacom Australia is still a relatively new employer of Graduates but are extremely excited to be supporting many university IBL and WIL programs nationally.

Datacom Australia’s graduate recruitment process is designed to be fast, informative, and easy to navigate all while ensuring you have a high touch candidate experience. 

1. Apply via our website
2. Minimum requirement check: You must have AU/NZ Citizenship or Australian Permanent Residency.
3. One-way Video Interview: It’s only 2 questions. Remember to just be yourself!
4. Recruitment Connect: This informal conversation will help you better understand the role we have in mind for you as providing you a platform to stand out and showcase your cand-do attitude, motivation and drive.
5. Assessment Day: This interactive day is more then case studies and games, it’s about getting to know our team and making sure Datacom is right for you. 
6. Offer! (Fingers crossed!)

Introducing Rodney Coulits, Associate Developer at Datacom

What do you do?

My job enables me to be part of Australasia’s largest homegrown technology company. Datacom works closely with leading technology partners that span a wide range of applications. 

As someone who has always been passionate about technology my job as an Associate Developer at Datacom gives me so much exposure to these technologies as well as tremendous support to learn and grow in an amazing team.

Each day is so different but typically involves: 

• Working on multiple projects
• Closing the gap between people and technology through DevOps
• Leveraging cloud technologies such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Writing code in various programming languages to automate processes or develop new features 
• Designing continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines and infrastructure
• Designing processes, documentation, presentations and reports while always adopting a best practice approach.
• Communicating and collaborating with my teams.

My role is super exciting because while  it typically focuses on software development, I’ve been able to grow in DevOps Engineering, which puts me right in the centre between both Development and Operation aspects of technology projects. This involves me in awesome projects such as government and healthcare.

What's your background?

I grew up on the Central Coast, New South Wales. For a long time, I lived in fairly rough areas considered to be low socioeconomic areas. 

The saying goes, “school isn’t for everyone” and for me that was the case. I’d gone as far as Year 10. At the time, it felt more natural to excel in sports than it did in the overall academics of school education.

During that time, I didn’t have the same interests, nor the same outlook on education that I do now. I was a sport enthusiast who played rugby union and won numerous cross-country marathons. I guess that’s where I put my focus because It felt good to be recognised for something that I was good at and enjoyed. 

I did have a passion outside of sport — for technology and science. My family and friends will tell you I was there go-to for their tech needs. I’d built computers from eight years old and started programming around 10. I enjoyed doing the odd job for family and friends, feeling the same sense of achievement I got from sports and from being able to help people, problem solving and creating solutions. It formed a purpose I’d later pursue. 

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Absolutely, in fact I encourage it. Information and technology is so very diverse and traditional approaches to joining the industry have changed so much in the last few years. 

As an example, even though I have a passion for tech, I had no qualifications or previous jobs with anything remotely similar to what I do now. Employers in the industry have opened their arms to people just like us. They want to train us to succeed, and all we need is to be optimistic and have an eagerness to learn and grow. There are countless opportunities within the field and with an entire world crying out for tech professionals, you can take your skills anywhere.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

I really enjoy being creative and being innovative. . I get to be a part of something bigger than day-to-day tasks by being involved with so many awesome projects. As an example, one of the projects I work on is in the healthcare industry and it literally plays a role in saving people’s lives. Things like this make my job beyond satisfying and rewarding, I love it.

What are the limitations of your job?

My job has a lot of moving pieces and one way to put it is “Never get too comfortable”. You can’t expect to follow a schedule, you need to be quick to adapt to so much change and in some cases work additional hours. There is a lot of responsibility with little consistency in terms of just learning one system or process, because you might go to work the next day and everything has changed or a team member has left but someone has to pick up those responsibilities. Not one person is doing the exact same job as another, each and every individual has unique responsibilities so you can’t always share the workload.

Pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

• Don’t be shy. Get involved. Be a people person! Even if you work better on your own – great work comes from people not a person. The days of Siloed work are over. The future is in collaboration.
• Ask questions, don’t feel bad and never feel like a burden for asking questions.
• Start a LinkedIn profile early on and keep it updated using it actively. You’ll be surprised by the connections you make throughout your learning and careers as well as awesome opportunities to attend events.

“Datacom has a strong sense of corporate and social responsibility that supports a very active local and international Community and Social Responsibility programme’ Some of our more recent initiatives include;

The Datacom Foundation

The Christchurch terror attacks in March 2019 shook everyone at Datacom to the core. We wanted to make a lasting and positive contribution to the families who were affected by the attacks. 

Working with local community leaders, we have established the Datacom Foundation – Iqra Salam Te Aroha, meaning read/learn, and peace in Arabic, and love in Māori.

The Foundation has been set up to support children significantly affected by the tragedy. These children will receive financial support to attend tertiary education and other support needed to fulfil their potential, over and above government agency support.

Last December, the Datacom community rose to the challenge by donating the usual Christmas gift to the Datacom Foundation and other charities (including the Australian Red Cross and Bushfire appeals). This raised around $150,000 for the Datacom Foundation.

Supporting those affected by the Australian bushfires

From September 2019 until March 2020, fires across multiple states and territories in Australia burned up an estimated 18.6 million hectares. The fires took the lives of 33 people, and some experts estimate more than one billion animals perished. Many of our Datacom people in affected areas had to leave offices and relocate away from homes. Some of our own stood up alongside the countless others and offered their time and skills to help those who might have lost their homes, possessions, or had to evacuate until the fires were contained and they could return. Kate Mellifont, content advisor for Unity, gave up her spare time to work with an organisation called Find A Bed to help those who had lost their home find a place to rest, eat, and sleep. Natalie Powell, Christchurch-based test analyst who volunteers her time as a firefighter bravely went off to New South Wales to help fight and control the fires that blazed over the summer season. Datacom also did its part by donating to four key charities—RSPCA, NSW Rural Fire Service, Country Fire Authority, and Red Cross. This allowed the donations to be spread across firefighting, assisting people, and wildlife. All up, Datacom donated AU$100,000 towards the bushfire appeals.

Employees at Datacom have access to a range of benefits including;

• Datacare: Our Employee Assistance Program enables our people and their immediate family to access confidential coaching and support services with qualified professionals.
• Health & Lifestyle: Everything from discounted gym memberships to flu shots, health assessments and discounted insurances.
• Finance & Super: These benefits include banking offers, superannuation packages, and financial support schemes.
• Discounts galore: Employees have access to a range from special offers and discounts from Car purchasing and travel to Tech equipment.

The Better Together Program supports Datacom's Diversity and Inclusion activities with the aim that everyone who interacts with Datacom feels a sense of belonging and connectedness.

Our internal Inclusion & Diversity communities bring our diverse teams together.

We want Datacom to be an inclusive and welcoming workplace for everyone. We recently launched our new set of values, which includes "It’s the people” and “Courage to act”. Pride at Datacom is about showing respect in the workplace and creating an environment that means we can all bring our best selves to work. It takes courage to create change in our society.

At Datacom, we’re committed to following through and ensuring our workplace matches our inclusive values.

Our Pride Network help celebrate our internal initiatives, including our LGBTQI+ inclusion training, updated guidelines around inclusive dress codes and parental leave, and our support for team members with transgender and gender-diverse experiences.

We’re also working to become more visible in the broader community. We had a great time at Auckland’s Big Gay Out in February, where we offered space to recharge and chill out while celebrating with the local community, and we’d like to extend that throughout the year.

Recently, we had 13 delegates from our Datacom Connect team attend the Equality Project’s Better Together 2021 national LGBTIQ+ conference in Adelaide. It was a fantastic opportunity to empower new rainbow leaders in our own community, as they participated in discussions with a focus on how Datacom can work to create a more inclusive workplace and create cultural change.

At Datacom we strongly believe that having a disability and/or access need is not a limitation for any of our people to growing meaningful work and life experiences through their careers at Datacom. Our internal (Dis)ability network aims to bring people together and champion equality.

We also offer all employees access to our Employee Assistance Program, which enables our people and their immediate family to access confidential coaching and support services with qualified professionals. 

As well as ensuring our people have every opportunity to perform and be their best self we also provide critical guidance and support for our clients.

When the Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN) needed to offer accessible systems for its members, Datacom offered leading software to future-proof the organisation.

The Queenslanders with Disability Network's (QDN) motto is 'nothing about us, without us'. The not-for-profit organisation’s aim is to empower people with disabilities, along with their friends and family members, to have a say on the issues that affect their lives. To be able to do this, it’s essential QDN’s systems are accessible for all members to have their say.

QDN is an advocacy group that supports those with disabilities living in Queensland, Australia. Its work includes managing an emerging leaders programme, peer support groups, and a member hub. QDN also assists in making policy submissions, advocacy, and consultations.

Previously, the organisation’s membership application process had been manual and paper-based, and quite inaccessible for much of its membership. It also had a legacy operating system, which was out of date and unable to offer the visibility, nor the speed required, to best serve members.

For accessibility reasons, it was essential to keep the paper-based member application system in place. However, the organisation needed to be upgraded to an efficient digital process as well. The legacy systems required a complete overhaul to improve efficiency and to future-proof the organisation as it develops and grows.

Datacom migrated QDN’s system to Microsoft Dynamics 365. We also leveraged Microsoft’s 'nonprofit accelerator', which is tailor-made for not-for-profit organisations. Using the accelerator reduced the time it took to roll out the updates. It also enabled a 50 per cent reduction in production costs and reduced ongoing licensing costs. There’s also no longer a need for on-site technicians, developers, or physical storage costs.

QDN’s new software experience provides better visibility across the organisation and gives users access to Microsoft Office 365 features and integrations. It can now better track and serve its membership in more meaningful ways.

Increased security is a key advantage of the upgraded system. Now that QDN’s software and hardware are hosted in a cloud-based system, it’s protected by a stringent security protocol, with essential data stored in high-security data centres. Data can only be accessed by the people who need to see it.

“Our legacy, paper-based system was in great need of an upgrade. Datacom’s efforts have not only driven us forward in efficiency and [our] ways of working, but the visibility tools allow us to better serve the people who matter most: our members. It’s also future-proofed us and allows significant flexibility for future updates to our process,” says Michelle Moss, director of policy and strategic engagement, Queenslanders with Disability Network.

The overhaul of QDN’s systems and processes has not only lightened the admin load for its staff, it’s increased support for members. QDN’s membership application process is now accessible both digitally and in paper form. Further, its up-to-date systems allow the organisation to be more effective, efficient, and impactful, allowing the organisation to offer the best possible outcome for its members.

When the Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN) needed to offer accessible systems for its members, Datacom offered leading software to future-proof the organisation.

Datacom's Strive programme aims to create more opportunities for aspiring businesswomen. Datacom's chief financial officer, Rachel Walsh, hopes it will also inspire future female leaders in tech. She often gets accused of not looking like an accountant, but, for the past three years or so, Rachel Walsh has been Datacom’s chief financial officer.

“I started out at PwC, but, when my boys came along, I took up part-time work helping small businesses do their accounts. I thought corporate life was done but they invited me back in and I got stuck in.”

Being able to get back into corporate life after having a family is something Rachel doesn’t take for granted, and neither, she says, should the tech sector.

“Having a strong maternity or parental leave policy is essential if we’re to attract women into a sector, whether it’s finance or IT. Women of a certain age and at a certain point in their career will be looking to have children and will want to know they can come back and resume their career afterwards.”

Datacom’s current review of its policies in this regard is essential if we’re to attract the right talent, says Rachel.

“We’re very much on a journey and our reputation as an employer will play a large part in the next phase of the company’s life.”
Being able to attract talent is a passion of Rachel’s and she takes every opportunity to encourage women into corporate life.

“There is a juggle, a certain expectation that you can manage all the aspects of life, family, children, work, and everything else. Whether it’s women putting that expectation on ourselves or society or whatever, I don’t know, but it’s important to me that we consider the whole person, that we bring our most authentic selves to work and not put on a façade for the office.”

Rachel didn’t have a specific mentor while she was coming up through the ranks (“I had a number of people who mentored and coached me and I’m very grateful to them," she adds) but is a firm believer in the power of coaching and supporting to ensure the next generation of leaders come through the doors.

“I do believe we’re missing out on a whole section of the workforce if we don’t support those women because they’re the ones we want to be there to be our leaders of the future.“

The tech sector, in general, has been quite poor at attracting women into its ranks, says Rachel, and that has to change or we’ll never get on top of the skills shortage.

“How do you make it more attractive? How do we sell the end game, the lifestyle rather than the ‘It’s a boring job in tech’?”

Part of Rachel’s role involves supporting the Strive programme, which has been developed within the finance function (including risk, strategy and business intelligence), as well as the property and procurement function.

“It’s one of the things I’m most proud of in that it’s by the finance team for the finance team.”

The programme has four pillars that focus on supporting staff.

“They’re community, wellbeing, social, and opportunities for growth. At each location, we’ve set up an ambassador who can support our teams and link back into the Strive committee.”

The different pillars are designed to support all the facets of a staff member’s life, including career building.

“They’re hooked into CAANZ (Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand) and CPA Australia to help people get the qualifications to advance through the profession.”

While it’s early days for Strive, Rachel has high hopes the programme's philosophies can be expanded to other areas of the business in the coming years.

“Our centralised wider finance function is a relatively new team. We’d had really high attrition and turnover and I wanted to grow a culture of excellence and opportunity.”

Alongside formal programmes, Rachel would also like to see a clear framework for careers that includes more graduate programmes, staff education, and training opportunities, as well as maternity and paternal leave, mentoring, and a clear career framework mapped out.

“This is part of our DNA, part of the Datacom way that we have always valued. I’d like to see that expand out to become a core platform for the Datacom people.”

For Rachel, Datacom is heading in the right direction.

“We’ve been quite fragmented in the past but we’re coming together. I’d like to see more of that. It’s a good place to work. We’ve got lots of good challenges and the chance to work with lots of great people, including women and men from all backgrounds."

Datacom acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Lands where we conduct our business and recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay respect to their elders – past, present and emerging and acknowledge their spiritual connection to country.

Creating an inclusive, safe and culturally aware workplace is a continued commitment for Datacom.

We are very close to launching our RAP, setting out our commitments to the reconciliation movement. We’re also extremely excited to be decorating some of our workspaces with Indigenous art and proudly celebrate NAIDOC week with partnerships like Dreamtime Art who help facilitated discussion with Dreamtime Art (understanding cultural activities and protocols.