If you’ve ever seen a kid collapse into giggles over a well-timed fart joke, you’ll understand exactly why Telstra’s latest initiative might just be the smartest way to tackle Australia’s looming tech crisis.
Because if the cure to a 131,000-worker digital skills shortage is an animatronic puppet named Patch… well, nobody saw that coming.
But, here we are. Welcome to Codemates — Australia’s first publicly available experience where kids aged 8–15 can code a real-life puppet to dance, joke, kung fu strike and yes, drop a cheeky burp or fart. And it just might be the joy-fuelled spark we need to engage young Aussies in tech.
And honestly? It’s about time we got a little creative.
Australia’s tech gap isn’t funny — but Patch is
According to the Future Skills Organisation Workforce Plan 2025, Australia is on track to face a shortfall of 131,000 tech workers by 2030. That’s not just a staffing issue — that’s a potential roadblock to innovation, competitiveness and future economic growth.
The encouraging news is that 75% of young people already know digital skills matter for their future careers (2024 Australian Youth Digital Index). Kids want to learn this stuff. The problem? Only half are actually being taught how to code at school.
So what do you do when you need to connect high-value technical education with an audience who speaks fluent Roblox and considers humour an essential learning tool?
You give them a puppet sidekick with a sass setting.
Meet Patch — coding’s most entertaining wingman
Telstra has been supporting kids’ coding development for over two decades through free programs like Code Club. But 2025 marks a whole new level with Codemates, an interactive, real-time coding experience where children can program Patch via a web interface.
It starts with a digital avatar so they can practice their commands. Then comes the main event — a live session where their code controls the animatronic puppet, streamed directly back to them. Every move, joke and gas-powered gag is driven by logic and sequencing written by the kids.
Yes… even the farts are educational.
“I love coding because it lets me be creative and tackle problems step by step. [This] is valuable for any career path. Thanks to Codemates, thousands of kids now have a coding buddy, making learning to code fun and collaborative,” says Chloe (16), a member of Telstra Foundation’s 2025 Youth Advisory Council.
That’s the power of Patch. Because learning something as potentially intimidating as programming becomes instantly approachable when it’s accompanied by jazz hands. And the odd burp.
Why this matters (beyond the comic relief)
Teaching coding isn’t really about mastering syntax. It’s about building computational thinking — problem-solving, logic, creativity and resilience. The same cognitive tools that help engineers build AI are the ones kids use to program Patch’s next sick disco move.
Think of coding like Sudoku in motion — strategy, deduction and sequence testing. Only instead of a number grid, the output is a furry dance battle.
And kids are already showing they’re hungry for this kind of independent, tech-forward learning. While only 1 in 2 say they’ve learned coding at school, 75% showed a preference for self-directed digital learning, far exceeding guidance from family or friends.
That’s significant. It tells us kids don’t just need better access to digital education — they want it. And, they’re ready to take the wheel.
Coding meets creativity in the next generation of tech talent
Codemates is completely free and available nationwide. It launches during the 10th anniversary of Moonhack, the Australian-born international coding event where tens of thousands of kids participate globally.
It combines remote execution, live streaming, physical robotics and a strong dose of play. It’s tech education in stick-your-landing-and-hold-your-giggle format.
And while it feels like fun (and it is), this is serious groundwork for Australia’s future tech talent. Because if a puppet can teach hundreds of thousands of kids to code, what’s to say one of them won’t be the person designing the next life-changing AI tool, solving climate problems or protecting cyber security?
They’ll laugh. They’ll learn. They might invent the world’s first algorithmic moonwalk-belch combo.
Visit www.codemates.fun to join the adventure — and see how a dancing, farting puppet might just be the tech mentor Australia needs.
Turns out, the future doesn’t only speak in binary. Sometimes, it burps.