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Colleges across Coventry and Warwickshire will receive funding totalling more than £5 million as part of a pilot scheme to reshape technical skills training in the region.

North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC), WCG (formerly Warwickshire College Group), Coventry College, and Stratford-upon-Avon College will all receive a slice of the funding after a successful group bid.

The funding will be used to create a Coventry and Warwickshire Strategy for Technical Education and see new facilities and courses created, as well as staff recruited and trained across the colleges to deliver on the strategy.

Coventry and Warwickshire is one of 18 pilot groups for the Skills Accelerator programme, which incorporates the Local Skills Improvement Plan Trailblazers and Strategic Development Fund pilots.

The Skills Accelerator programme is a key part of the Government’s blueprint for reshaping the technical skills system – ensuring educational provision meets the skills demands of the region.

The four colleges across Coventry and Warwickshire will be working with education stakeholders such as the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, local authorities, and employers to deliver on the region’s skill priorities.

Funding will be used to improve delivery in three key areas including electrification and battery technology, creative, culture and digital, and construction, transport and logistics.

New fit-for-purpose training facilities will also be developed at the colleges to enable stronger delivery for the three sectors.

Marion Plant, OBE FCGI, Principal and Chief Executive of North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, added, “This investment will help us to build on the work we have already initiated to support automotive industry skills at our MIRA Technology Institute campus, and logistics skills through our collaboration with GLP, Wincanton and Aston University at the Centre for Logistics Education and Research (CLEAR) at the heart of Magna Park Distribution Centre.

“It will reinforce our ability to deliver in-demand skills so urgently needed by the digital sector as we work towards the development of a new Digital Skills and Innovation Centre in Nuneaton town centre, alongside our current Digital Skills Academy based in Coventry.”

Angela Joyce, CEO of WCG, said: “For Coventry and Warwickshire to be named a pilot region for the Skills Accelerator programme is fantastic and is evidence that our region is at the forefront of the national drive to deliver effective technical education.

“For WCG, the funding will allow us to expand our delivery in vital sectors including electrification and battery technology, and construction, transport and logistics – areas that will be drivers for the bright future of our region.

“A collaborative approach is important to help bridge the skills gap and this funding will be used to create an effective region-wide strategy.”

Carol Thomas, Coventry College Principal and CEO, said: “We are delighted to be collaborating strategically with further education colleges across the Coventry and Warwickshire region to ensure regional skills priorities are delivered to benefit our residents and the local economy.

“Coventry is an ambitious City with key industrial strengths and this funding will enable our College to further support businesses with the skills they need in electrification, retrofit and digital.”

Acting Principal Lindsey Stewart, Acting Principal for Stratford-upon-Avon College, said:  “After the tough time Stratford-upon-Avon has had during the last 18 months, the college is delighted to able to offer an exciting new range of courses in both construction and creative areas. The project will fund state-of-the-art facilities which also encompass the green agenda. The colleges working in partnership will enhance the skills offer while reducing costly duplication.”

The bid was supported by Louise Bennett, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

Louise said: “One of the key issues that is raised with us by members time and again is the need for the right people, with the right skills to help businesses grow.

“We are delighted, therefore, that Coventry and Warwickshire has been chosen as a pilot area for the Skills Accelerator Programme, working with our brilliant FE colleges across the region.

“This is a chance to shape skills provision that is tailored to the economic needs of the region and to help businesses recruit for the roles they need to be able to expand at the same time as helping people to develop the skills they need for a great career.”

Ian is gaining new skills as part of a Digital Skills Academy bootcamp that will help him to change career direction after being made redundant from the engineering company where he worked for over 30 years. He is now on track to use his new IT skills and qualifications and is feeling positive about the future.

Ian worked for a small engineering business in Nuneaton where he worked as a 2 and 5-axis CNC programmer as well as maintaining the company’s IT systems before he was put on furlough during the 2020 lockdown. His uncertainty about the future led him to joining his first digital skills bootcamp where he learned new programming language JavaScript. Ian enjoyed the experience of learning online in his own time and with the remote support of his tutor Bradie. He has now moved on to the Level 3 bootcamp, a five-week programme that will introduce him to C#.

Ian said, “It has been a difficult year, but I have always wanted to learn software development programming skills and the bootcamps have been perfect for me. It is tough learning new computing languages, but I am getting to grips with new concepts. I am convinced that the skills I am learning now will help me to get back into employment and potentially follow a new direction developing software. While I have been at home, I have been kept busy with DIY, and I am currently looking at setting up my own business as a sign maker. I would definitely recommend the digital skills bootcamps at NWSLC because they have given me a fantastic opportunity to re-energise my career.”

An opportunity to take the first steps within the video games sector will enable students to work on a live video game already in production as part of a new intensive training course developed against a backdrop of growing demand during the pandemic.

The Digital Skills Academy’s video games production bootcamp has been designed in partnership with Create Central, the West Midlands trade body set up to turbo-charge the region’s film TV and games industries, whose members are working to widen the talent pool. The West Midlands has one of the UK’s biggest games industry clusters outside London with more than 10 per cent of the UK total games development sector based in Leamington Spa.

Funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the beginners’ bootcamp, which starts on 18 October 2021, runs for five weeks, and can be attended remotely at home. The deadline for applications is 3 October 2021 and the course is free for individuals living within a WMCA postcode area.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of UK coding roles has grown by 74,000 over the last three years and now stands at over 600,000. Fuelled by a digital revolution that has gathered pace during the pandemic, skills in video games production are now in high demand and offer lucrative career routes.

Heading up the Digital Skills Academy, Katy Urwin said, “This is a critical time for digital industries which urgently need to address skills shortages. At the same time, we know that unemployment rates for young people have increased more steeply as a result of the pandemic leading to more economic inactivity. Training opportunities like these are designed specifically to match new entrants to the sector with in-demand job roles.

“The Digital Skills Academy is working with a number of partners in the region including Create Central to ensure that candidates are well-prepared with the right skills to access routes into careers that will meet the growing needs of industry in the years ahead. We also offer less intensive online digital skills courses for beginners at Level 2 including CompTIA Fundamentals (ITF+) and students will have the opportunity to progress including on to higher education.

“Skills in video games production can provide exciting career paths and committing five weeks to testing out your skills is a valuable way of finding out whether you have got what it takes to succeed in this growing industry.”

Alex Darby, Technical & Design Director of darbotron ltd and Create Central Member said, “Create Central’s training scheme, developed in consultation with the local videogame industry has the potential not only to fix a talent shortage, but also to help address deeper industry issues by offering opportunity to a much wider and more diverse spectrum of people than existing pathways.”

The bootcamps are open to anyone who wants to test their skills and try out for a place on an apprenticeship in software development. Potential students are urged to make contact as soon as possible to secure their place via enquiries@digital-skillsacademy.co.uk.

The Digital Skills Academy was established in Coventry following a successful bid led by North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) to secure funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority. The Academy was launched in response to growing momentum for the fast-paced digitisation of the UK and an acknowledgement that digital skills increasingly sit at the heart of all careers.

Courses and apprenticeships at a range of levels are available both online, via the Academy’s base at the Coventry University Technology Park in the heart of the city’s technology zone. Digital Skills Academy training courses are delivered free of charge to individuals living within West Midlands Combined Authority postcode areas.

A Warwickshire-based Digital Skills Academy has responded to predictions of a ‘catastrophic’ future skills shortage with news of its latest bootcamps designed to get people into coding and tech careers. The response comes on the back of a report by the Learning & Work Institute commissioned by WorldSkills UK that has highlighted the gap between the demand for AI, cloud and robotics skills and the numbers of new students currently engaging with IT and computer science studies.

Heading up the Digital Skills Academy (DSA), Katy Urwin said, “We are acutely aware of the need to address skills shortages and have been working with a number of businesses to identify accessible routes into careers that will meet the growing needs of industry in the years ahead. This latest report serves to reinforce our ambition to stimulate interest in IT careers and demonstrate how computing skills can open the door to a wide range of exciting job roles.

“Our coding bootcamps get people in on the ground floor and put them through their paces so that they can decide whether a career in IT is right for them. We also offer less intensive online digital skills courses for beginners at Level 1 and 2 including CompTIA Fundamentals (ITF+) and students will have the opportunity to progress including on to higher education.

“Our message to potential students is very clear. Skills in these areas can offer lucrative career paths and appealing job prospects. If they want to become indispensable in the job market, digital skills have never been in higher demand.”

The report, published this week, states that while 60 per cent of employers expect their reliance on digital skills to increase and eight out of ten young people know that they will need IT skills for work, there has been a consistent decline in numbers choosing IT subjects over the last six years.

Marion Plant, OBE FCGI, Principal and Chief Executive of North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) said, “We are keen to address this trend by highlighting the exciting opportunities that digital skills can bring with skilled individuals going on to develop 3D video games, or mobile apps, design robots or work on projects that bring the Internet of Things to life from self-driving cars to smart homes.”

The beginners bootcamps, are scheduled to start on 12 April 2021 and 5 July 2021 and each will run for two weeks with an option to join online. Potential students should make contact as soon as possible to secure their place. The bootcamps are open to anyone who wants to test their skills and try out for a place on an apprenticeship in software development.

The Digital Skills Academy was established in Coventry following a successful bid led by NWSLC to secure funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority. The Academy was launched in response to growing momentum for the fast-paced digitisation of the UK and an acknowledgement that digital skills increasingly sit at the heart of all careers.

The Academy offers students a pathway to ‘in demand’ digital jobs in software development and cyber security so that businesses can access a pipeline of people with higher level skills and address gaps within their workforce. In addition, students can access opportunities to improve the types of digital skills on which every business increasingly relies.

Courses and apprenticeships at a range of levels are available both online, via the Academy’s base at the Coventry University Technology Park in the heart of the city’s technology zone. The Digital Skills Academy is expecting to extend its reach into Nuneaton town centre in the months ahead following confirmation this month that it will be one of 45 UK locations to benefit investment from the government’s Towns Fund.

The DSA is also geared up to respond to the needs of the logistics and supply chain sector supplying digital skills via a new training and research facility at Magna Park in Lutterworth. The Centre for Logistics Education and Research (CLEAR) will help the sector to address key challenges as the UK moves towards economic recovery and renewed growth following the coronavirus pandemic.

Digital Skills Academy training courses are delivered free of charge to individuals living within West Midlands Combined Authority postcode areas.

ARE YOU LOOKING TO DRIVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD?

The Digital Skills Academy are exhibiting at The Midlands Business Network Expo virtual event alongside NWSLC on Thursday 25^th March 2021 from 9am until 5pm. During this event, we will be showcasing all our training solutions which can increase workplace productivity, develop business opportunities, support succession planning and drive business growth.

You will also hear first-hand from a range of our employers and young people who have benefited from our training programmes.

Our Business Engagement Team will be on hand throughout the event to talk to you about how we can support your training requirements or develop a bespoke package to meet the needs of your business.

 

VISIT US DURING THIS EVENT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT: 

Digital Skills Academy

Digital skills and technologies are shaping the workforce, and we want to help your business and employees with our digital training solutions. AI, machine learning and cybersecurity are growing skill areas for IT businesses. The DSA is based at Coventry University’s Technology Park in the heart of the city’s technology zone. We are here to help improve the digital skills of all Midlands businesses.

Apprenticeships with MIRA Technology Institute (MTI) 

Apprenticeships are a cost-effective way to develop and grow your workforce. At MTI, we have a wide range of Automotive Engineering apprenticeship programmes from level 2 up to degree level. As the Engineering sector is continually developing, so does the skills required of the workforce. Through apprenticeship training, we can ensure that the sector has the specialist skills needed to thrive.

Learn more about our training solutions:

• CPD courses which can be completed online, within 4 hours for just £30!
• Professional training courses to develop the skills within your workforce.
• Digital skills training and CompTIA courses.
• FREE* online and distance learning courses in a wide range of subjects.
• Apprenticeships to develop your current employees or gain new talent.

 

EMPLOYER SEMINAR

THURSDAY 25^TH MARCH | 10:30 – 11:00

Join Christopher Tullin, Director of Business Engagement and Student Employability, and the Business Engagement Team, to hear more about how apprenticeships and industry placements are a cost-effective way to upskill your workforce.

Hear about how your business and workforce could also benefit from our range of CPD, professional, digital skills and FREE* online distance learning courses and gain an insight into how you can integrate fresh new ideas in your business, with full support from NWSLC.

For more information and to book onto the seminar click here.

 

Evolving your business to meet a demanding digital world!

The Digital Skills Academy brought together leaders from across the digital and IT sectors to discuss how digital skills will rejuvenate and re-energise the UK economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It showcased how the sector can benefit from access to free training as well as high-quality software development and coding candidates to fill critical vacancies.  

Head of Apprenticeships for North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) Katy Urwin gave an insight into how innovative skills development is set to boost the digital revolution and release the potential from a renewed focus on digital technologies emerging from the COVID-19 crisis.  

Industry and education experts included, Marion Plant OBE FCGI, Principal and Chief Executive Officer of NWSLC, Kerry McGreavy from the Institute of Coding, Pete Frost, managing director of a digital marketing agency, Unity and a representative from our Higher Education partner Coventry University. 

The webinar covered key issues around skills and training emerging from the pandemic, including:  

• How digital skills and technologies are shaping the workforce  
• Key skills gaps and training requirements  
• Diverse modes of education delivery in a socially distanced world  
• How skills delivery has become more flexible and responsive  
• Support to fund training and development for you new or existing workforce  

A change of career into IT is on the cards for Inga after she successfully progressed from the CompTIA Fundamentals course on to the A+ programme with the Digital Skills Academy. Inga, from Dudley, works part-time in civil engineering working for a company that carries out soil testing for land developers. Mindful of securing a career with a sound progression route, Inga was drawn to the IT sector because she already had a good level of basic knowledge.

Some online research led her to the DSA courses which are being offered at no cost to students living within WMCA postcodes, and the online Fundamentals programme seemed the ideal place to start.

Inga said, “I really needed to find a course where I could learn independently in my own time because I have a busy job, and also need time to look after my 18-month-old son. I could follow the CompTIA course whenever I had a spare moment, and without going into college. I did have the support of my assessor who was really helpful in guiding me if I had any questions.

“The course is highly detailed and was more extensive than I expected. I could even do the exam online at home which was so much more convenient than going into a test centre.

Inga, originally from Lithuania, said that qualifications in IT are more accessible in the UK and she will have more opportunities to start and progress a career as a computer technician.

She added, “Although it is a busy sector, you really need the right qualifications to get a job. The Fundamentals course was an introduction to IT skills and a perfect opportunity to see if a career in IT was right for me. I was delighted to pass the exam and have moved on to the A+ course which is a qualification that employers recognise. I am getting on well and hope to take the exam in a couple of months from now. After that, I will be able to start job-hunting and plan to also take the Security course after that.

“These courses from the DSA are fantastic and I would have completed them more quickly if I had not been working and looking after my family. They are ideal for anyone who is not working, and I would recommend them as a great springboard into a fascinating career.”

A new Digital Skills Academy that was launched this year to help digitise the UK has been recognised with an award for its efforts to help people who are unemployed to gain new IT skills and those at work to progress in their careers.

The award was announced as part of an online ceremony by Graham Hunter, Vice President for Skills Certification at CompTIA, which provides accreditation for the Academy’s digital qualifications. As ‘Academic Newcomer of the Year’ for Europe, the Digital Skills Academy, part of North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC), was one of three award winners to be singled out for special commendation.

Graham Hunter said, “Despite the challenges faced by educational institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, our partners’ efforts to deliver training have not faltered. We are proud to work with organisations that value and deliver high quality training and certification as much as we do. For many IT pros, the knowledge and skills they employ today were sparked and nurtured under the tutelage of teachers, instructors and trainers from a CompTIA authorised partner”.

The Digital Skills Academy offers a series of courses built on CompTIA’s IT Fundamentals, A+ , Network +, Security+ and Cybersecurity Analyst+ certifications. Each certification provides students with the fundamental skills needed to start a career in technology.

Based at Coventry University’s Technology Park campus, the Academy was launched in 2020 following a successful bid led by NWSLC to secure funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority. It is responding to growing momentum for the fast-paced digitisation of the UK and an acknowledgement across all sectors that digital skills increasingly sit at the heart of all careers.

Offering students a pathway to ‘in demand’ digital jobs in software development and cyber security, the Academy helps businesses to access a pipeline of people with higher level skills and address gaps within their workforce. In addition, students are able to access opportunities to improve the types of digital skills on which every business increasingly relies.

Marion Plant, OBE FCGI, Principal and Chief Executive of NWSLC, and skills lead on the Digital Skills Academy board, said, “This is a great accolade for the Academy, the latest addition to our network of six campuses. Digitisation represented a significant challenge before the coronavirus pandemic and, since lockdown, we have learned to become doubly dependent on IT skills. It is vital that the West Midlands’ workforce is equipped to meet the challenges of the fast-paced development in digital technologies.

“The Academy plays a pivotal role in delivering skilled individuals to the digital sector in highly specialised areas such as software development and cyber security. Building on this, we acknowledge that everybody needs digital skills at some level to participate productively within the workplace so provision will enable individuals to enhance their career progression opportunities in whatever industry they work.”

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and Chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), said: “Re-skilling and upskilling have such critical roles to play in our region’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Tragically as a result of Covid-19, people are losing their jobs in the region, so training in the skills that employers want and need is a crucial way of finding employment again quickly. We know there is a digital skills gap across all industries, and jobs in technology continue to be in high demand even during the lockdown.

“It’s great news that NWSLC’s Digital Skills Academy has been recognised for its work in upskilling local people, and I would like to congratulate everyone involved. This shows how important it is that we fund training in digital skills to get people into the jobs of the future. I would urge anyone who has fallen out of work or who is worried about their future employment to see what training options are available through the West Midlands Combined Authority.”

The Academy has been designed to provide high quality industry-relevant teaching on a flexible basis at a range of levels creating a clear technical education pathway that takes account of individuals’ starting points.

     

Waleed Al-Rwaishan – CompTIA IT Fundamentals

Fewer face to face appointments in the NHS made a significant impact on the amount of work that Waleed could access as a freelance interpreter. With COVID-19 driving routine appointments online, there was less demand for Waleed’s services, and, during lockdown, he started to research alternative career opportunities.

Waleed, from Sutton Coldfield, had always shown an aptitude for IT and was delighted when his research identified the opportunity to follow the CompTIA Fundamentals course from home and at no expense. He said, “Being in lockdown was a perfect opportunity for me to reflect on my career and where I want to go next. I had time to really look around and identify the possibilities.

“When my work dried up during the coronavirus lockdown, I knew that I had to look elsewhere and as I am interested in IT, this seemed to be the best route for me. All the signs are that there will be plenty of jobs in the digital sector in the future, especially now that everyone is working remotely and online so much more.”

The CompTIA Fundamentals course covers the basics of computing, systems, data and troubleshooting, applications, and software work, installing printers and other devices, and how to establish a wireless network. It also covers how to use databases and the basics of reducing security risks.

Waleed added, “It is very important for me to gain the CompTIA qualifications so that I can demonstrate my skills to prospective employers. The support from the college has been amazing and I would not have been able to complete my course without the constant contact with my tutors. I found that learning online was very flexible and I was able to fit it in around my family commitments. I am so grateful to the college; this is a real life-changing opportunity for me.”

Waleed has now completed the Fundamentals course with flying colours and has moved on to the A+ qualification. He has an ambition to start working in IT support as soon as possible.

Andy Byrne – CompTIA IT Fundamentals

The impact of COVID-19 on the events sector left Andy Byrne from Birmingham with a gap in his freelance work as a telemarketer for a business that creates exhibition stands. Self employed Andy has not been working since the start of lockdown, but he has kept busy by studying and successfully achieved a qualification in IT through the Digital Skills Academy.

Andy said, “During the coronavirus lockdown, my usual source of work dried up almost immediately. I have appreciated the time because my mother was recovering from two broken hips just as the lockdown started and I have been looking after her. I also took advantage of the time to learn some new skills that might help futureproof my career if there are long term effects on the events sector that prevent me from getting back into my freelance career.

“I noticed the Digital Skills Academy posts on Facebook and its offer immediately interested me. I felt more confident choosing a college rather than a private training provider, and the fact that the courses were free of charge was hugely appealing considering my current circumstances. I had tried a paper-based distance learning course many years ago, but it didn’t work out very well for me than. I recognised CompTIA as being a worthwhile accreditation and was keen to get signed up.

“I really enjoyed the IT Fundamentals course and found myself looking forward to the sessions I spent learning online. They provided me with a welcome distraction at a time when they were so many restrictions on daily life. I found that studying helped with my mental wellbeing during what was an extraordinary and difficult period.

“I had no prior technical knowledge aside from using a laptop and smartphone so it was really interesting to learn about how the hardware functions, how networks and systems operate, and how the Internet of Things means that so much of life is now connected and automated.

“The course helped me to gain skills in troubleshooting common problems and I learned about the languages used in software programming. It had been a long time since I was last in formal education, so I felt a great sense of achievement when I completed the course and passed my qualification. I was so enthused by the experience, which was supported by my tutor Shakil, that I have signed up for the next level of qualification, the CompTIA A+.

“There is obviously a great deal of uncertainty in the employment market at the moment, and I don’t know how quickly I will be able to return to my freelancing role. Building on the IT skills I have gained seems to make sense in case I need to change the focus of my working life in the future and I feel pleased to have something secure to fall back on. There certainly seem to be plenty of opportunities in IT and digital roles and these types of skills are sure to be in major demand in the future.”

Find out more about how you can study the CompTIA IT Fundamentals course.