South Staffordshire College launches Digital Skills Academies

@southstaffs is delighted to be launching two digital skills academies as part of its ‘digital first strategy’ and following an investment of over £550,000 from the @StokeStaffsLEP.

The digital skills academies will be based at Cannock and Tamworth Colleges and will help the local community to develop the practical skills of networking, programming, ethical hacking, artificial intelligence, 5G and cyber security.

The college recognises that within the next 20 years, 90% of all jobs will require an element of digital skills. This will mean a further 1.2 million more technically and digitally skilled people will be needed to fulfil the skills gaps by 2022. It is hoped that through the creation of the digital skills academies South Staffordshire College can increase access to digital skills education and provide lifelong learning opportunities for its community.

You can sign up to study at the digital skills academy on a traineeship, pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship, or higher-level course. Local businesses can also benefit from high quality CPD and training opportunities with industry recognised professional qualification.

Courses will be taught through a mix of physical delivery in college and online. All courses focus on revolutionising future industries, streamlining business processes, boosting productivity, and providing the community with the digital skills required to match employers current and future skills demands.

After studying at the colleges digital skills academy students could expect to progress into careers such as software developers, business analysts, software engineers, cyber security or digital marketing expert. The digital skills academy will be also be invaluable for people who want to gain introductory digital skills.

Kirk Hookham, Deputy CEO of South Staffordshire College said “South Staffordshire College is thrilled with the capital funding from Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP and will enable the college to be at the forefront of digital skills training. Whether individuals need basic IT user training or the most advanced coding, cyber security or internationally certificated professional qualifications they will be able to study in one of our new, state of the art Digital Skills Academies at either Cannock or Tamworth College.

With a mix of tutor led sessions, short courses, apprenticeships and online learning South Staffordshire College will be leading the way in Digital Skills training across Staffordshire and in doing so will be driving forwards the digital elements of Stoke and Staffordshire LEP and Staffordshire County Councils strategic plans.”