Digital training opportunities showcased to businesses
Published: Friday 11 Oct 2019
Digital training for 21st century jobs has been showcased to cutting-edge businesses looking for upskilled workers at Birmingham's Millennium Point today (October 11).
Leading skills providers from across the region were brought together by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to show off the latest technology with live demonstrations, including robotics and flying drones.
The DEN (Digital Education Network), which was one of the events in the city's Tech Week, presented the first stream of training projects from the WMCA's £5 million Beat the Bots" fund designed to prepare the region's workforce for jobs in the digital age.
An apprentice demonstrates some of the latest technology at the DEN, staged at Millennium Point
Cllr George Duggins, WMCA portfolio holder for skills and productivity and leader of Coventry City Council, said: People across the region will be able to learn valuable digital skills to improve their career prospects whether currently in work or not.
This event was a superb opportunity for businesses to come and see just what these training providers are offering and how they can supply them with trained personnel to fill their skills gaps, enabling them to get-ahead in the digital technology race
A total of 1,100 training places are currently on offer from the 10 providers, who included Code Your Future which is training adults employed in low paid jobs in coding and the Princes Trust with training for young adults in a range of technologies.
Dudley College demonstrated the latest drones as part of its commitment to train working adults in manufacturing technology, drone technology and VR on a part-time basis to boost their employment prospects.
Also taking part were Spectra, focusing on training care leavers in Al, coding and cyber and Caudwell Children, providing training for young people with autism in icloud infrastructure and cyber.
Fircroft College was offering an infrastructure bootcamp and digital café for adults with a focus on those with mental health issues and from the BAME community in Birmingham.
Generation showed how it is delivering icloud technology retraining, while Netcom, presented its offer of rapid retraining with higher digital skills in infrastructure and cyber.
The School of Code announced it is running another bootcamp, this time for 120 adults in Coventry and the Black Country and the Open University also showcased a programme which will retrain employed adults, mainly women, in cyber.