Founder Insight: Why Meshed Academy Exists and What It Aims to Solve  

The Australian education sector, a vital component of the nation’s economy, faces ongoing challenges related to digital transformation, compliance, and workforce capability. With the international education sector alone valued at $51 billion, institutions are under pressure to streamline operations, enhance student experiences, and navigate complex regulatory landscapes. A significant hurdle for many providers has been the effective utilization of technology and the persistent difficulty in finding and retaining skilled staff, leading to operational inefficiencies. This pressing industry need prompted the creation of Meshed Academy.

When Pramesh Khadka, CEO of Meshed Group, first envisioned Meshed Academy, it was driven by a deep understanding of a persistent challenge in the Australian education sector—a challenge he’d observed over 18 years of working with institutions.

Meshed Academy was built on a simple idea: technology is only effective when people know how to use it. We recognized that while Meshed Group provided software solutions, there remained a gap in ensuring that staff possessed the necessary skills to fully leverage these platforms.

Addressing the Capability Gap with Targeted Student Services Training   

At its core, Meshed Academy is designed to cultivate a more capable workforce within tertiary education. For years, Meshed Group has provided comprehensive student management systems, yet a consistent issue emerged: a disconnect between the implementation of these robust tools and the practical capability of staff to fully utilize them to manage the student lifecycle from interest to graduation and beyond.

“Even with the best tools in place, institutions struggle if staff don’t know how to use them effectively,” Khadka explains. “Meshed Academy addresses that crucial gap.”

Through practical, role-specific training, the Academy equips staff, particularly in student services, with the expertise to perform effectively from day one. For education providers, this results in faster onboarding, enhanced compliance, and an improved student experience.

Accelerating Onboarding: Delivering Job-Ready Staff in Education

The current landscape underscores the timeliness of an initiative like Meshed Academy. Australia’s international education sector, a $51 billion industry, requires staff who can contribute immediately, rather than requiring months for proficiency. The traditional hiring process, which can involve sifting through resumes, interviews, onboarding, and training, often takes three to six months before a new team member is fully proficient.

“With Meshed Academy, we are providing job-ready staff in education right from the start,” Khadka notes.

This approach significantly reduces operational delays, minimizes errors, and allows senior staff to focus on strategic initiatives rather than basic onboarding tasks.

Meshed Academy: Evolving Education Onboarding Solutions for Greater Utilization

Meshed Group’s commitment, “Our software made specially for you,” is extended by the Academy, aligning with the company’s overarching vision of empowering education through technology.

“We have built exceptional systems tailored to our clients’ unique needs. Now, we are ensuring the users of those systems are equally well-equipped,” Khadka states.

By offering role-based, real-world, repeatable training aligned with actual workflows, the Academy enables institutions to fully leverage the Meshed platform, maximizing their return on investment. It also establishes a new standard for workforce readiness across the sector, improving education onboarding solutions. The aim is to increase platform utilization from 20-30% to 60-80%.

Fostering Operational Resilience Through Meshed RTOManager Training

Beyond addressing operational challenges, Meshed Academy contributes to more effective teams and operational resilience. When institutions integrate a new hire who can make an immediate contribution, it enhances overall team productivity and frees up existing resources.

“A capable individual empowers others to engage in more meaningful work. This cultivates a culture of learning and innovation,” Khadka emphasizes.

This also supports digital maturity and system adoption, a critical objective for many education providers, by preventing overload on individuals. With integrated training for onboarding and continuous professional development, institutions become more agile and better prepared for future growth. The specific Meshed RTOManager training is a key component of this capability building, enabling roles like Student Services Officers.

Local Foundation with Global Potential for the International Education Workforce

Currently, Meshed Academy is focused on serving Australian providers, particularly the hundreds of local clients already using the Meshed platform. However, Khadka anticipates broader expansion.

“In the next few years, we aim for the Academy to be recognized as a benchmark—not just for student services training, but for workforce capability across the entire education sector,” he states.

Plans are in development to expand into roles such as finance and campus management, touching many lives within the industry. There is also potential for international expansion of Meshed Academy in the future, creating trusted hubs and skill pipelines across borders, and setting professional standards as benchmarks for the international education workforce.

Defining Success Metrics for Meshed Academy

Khadka outlines clear success metrics for Meshed Academy in both the short and long term. Immediate success indicators include increased user adoption and engagement, significantly faster onboarding times, and greater platform utilization.

“If we can reduce onboarding time from three months to two weeks, that constitutes a clear win,” he asserts. Reduced support tickets from users also indicate increased system knowledge.

Long-term, the objective is for Meshed Academy to become an integral component of every client’s induction processes. This includes exploring Meshed-endorsed certification pathways, possibly developing into continuous professional development, and establishing it as an essential success partner rather than an add-on.

A Significant Achievement—And the Path Forward

Regarding the initiative’s progress, Khadka highlights the realization of the concept.

 “Building from an idea years ago into a framework and delivering our first course is already impressive ,” he states. “The true milestone will be observing those learners graduate and begin to make a measurable impact in the field.”

New courses are in development, expanding training frameworks, and offering Meshed Academy to existing staff. Growing interest from institutions nationwide indicates that 2025 will be a pivotal year.

“We are not merely preparing staff; we are enabling institutions to transition from operational maintenance to strategic growth. That is our ultimate objective,” he affirms.

The Journey Forward

In a sector facing increasing compliance pressures, persistent staffing shortages, and complex systems, Meshed Academy offers a practical, scalable solution that prioritizes workforce capability.

“It is about cultivating confident, capable professionals who enable their institutions to not just survive, but truly flourish,” Khadka concludes.

The early indications suggest that Meshed Academy is well-positioned to achieve this, making a profound impact across the entire Australian education landscape.