The Future Skills Programme
The Future Skills Programme held it’s first ever lunchtime series on Wednesday 21st November to break down the myths of the apprenticeship levy and how companies of all sizes are using it to attract, build and retain diverse teams. The event was Chaired by June Angelides.
PANEL (L -R) Top Row
Doniya Soni Policy lead @LDN_GOV
Mayor of London’s Office (Digital and STEM skills)
Rioch Edwards-Brown Founder @sywbitv
Tackling diversity skills gap thru talent campaigns & consultancy
Ade Awokoya Founder @LBSAcademy
UK Growth Hub providing digital skills training to small business
PANEL (L-R) Bottom Row
Sharon Peters @Twitter @marksandspencer
Head of Technology, Marks and Spencer
Jack Parsons CEO @BigYGroup
Improving the odds for young people across the world.
June Angelides Chair @FutureProgramme
Founder Mums in Technology
Outline of The Future Skills Programme
1] The candidates get a paid job from day one of training. [2] Who’s it for: career-shifters. [3] They can learn flexibly. [4] There is extensive mentoring support.
Panel Discussion
The panel discussion explored Future Skills, the challenges, the opportunity for organisations willing to think outside the box and the humanity of it all.
1. More needs to be done around developing skills in early adulthood, specifically we need programmes / boot camps to teach digital skills.
2. By 2020 all adults in the UK will be entitled to tech / IT skills training and there’ll be new and improved qualifications for digital skills.
3. Many companies are embarking on or have reached the end of a digital transformation,
4. Due to the digital skills shortage, many companies can’t go through a digital transformation, which is exactly how the Future Skills Programme was born.
5. Gen Y and Z are ‘making their own doors’, i.e. Y and Z care about “project over pensions” because they are driven by purpose and are less interested in what hiring managers want.
6. the Future Skills Programme is an inclusive programme and includes those who want to shift careers into tech.
7. At Marks and Spencer, they’ve been encouraging any and all of their staff to enrol on their programme to either career shift or up-skill.
8. Senior people still want training, Gen X are more afraid to ask for training or help. The beauty of the Future Skills Programme, is you can be any age to career shift into tech.
9. Apprenticeships are great, but we need to consider the “pre” – what comes before work, interviews, apprenticeships? Learning soft skills.
10. The consensus across the panel was that solutions come from listening to both the outputs that employers are seeking alongside asking potential apprentices what they want from the programme.
Harvey Nash’s Future Skills Programme provides organisations with brilliant software engineers and data specialists, through a unique training programme. Making use of the UK Government’s apprenticeship levy scheme, we bring high potential talent from outside the sector and build their skills through our unique training and development programme, getting them to work with our client’s productively and quickly.
The event was then opened up by June to Q&A.
Feedback received
1. We need to address the education sector and how we’re going to tackle not only the skills shortage, but the shortage of females in the tech industry.
2. We need to harness and start all children on a digital path whilst they’re at school.
3. As hiring managers, we need to challenge ourselves and present real alternatives to University that include planned progression. Apprenticeships are a valuable addition to school-leaver options.
LBAcademy is a UK Business Growth Hub that provides digital skill and talent training to Tech & Creative Startups for high growth.