The South Central Institute of Technology (SCIoT) at Bletchley has won a contract worth almost a million pounds to provide free study programmes to help local businesses improve their digital skills.
The In Work Skills Pilot from the Department of Education will enable companies to enrol their staff to learn about cyber security, data analytics, power platforms and cloud computing, among other topics.
Milton Keynes College Principal, Alex Warner, said:
“This is a massive vote of confidence from the government in the SCIoT. We’re among the first to be given the go ahead to offer these courses, which will give local businesses the chance to bring staff up to date in some of the most important digital skills.”
The news comes just a month after it was announced that the SCIoT had also won a £3.5m bid with Milton Keynes College to set up a new skills centre to improve links with business – again in a government pilot scheme. Other partners in that scheme include MK Chamber, the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) and MK Council, along with the city-wide artificial intelligence group, MKAI.
On top of that, the SCIoT will receive money from the Skills Development Fund to offer digital programmes for people who are out of work and want to retrain to become more employable.
Yaseen Akhtar, Director of Curriculum at the SCIoT, said:
“This is a terrific opportunity for local companies to have their staff learn crucial professional skills which will be of great value to their business. From the individual’s perspective, this is a way to gain industry-recognised qualifications which can only enhance their future career prospects. They won’t be on their own either. Each learner will benefit from personalised specialist support provided by one of our dedicated digital coaches. There really is no downside to signing up.”
Alex added:
“Virtually everyone who is in a job or is looking for one can benefit hugely from the skills training we can now offer them. The benefits to the local economy will be significant, as well as providing a lot of people with the chance to make real steps forward in their working lives.”
Companies wishing to find out more can get in touch via yaseen.akhtar@mkcollege.ac.uk
