ALET IS PLAYING A CRITICAL PART IN BUILDING A SKILLS PIPELINE ESSENTIAL TO THE UK ECONOMY TO BE COMPETITIVE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD .
INDUSTRY WATCH
ALET IS PLAYING A CRITICAL PART IN BUILDING A SKILLS PIPELINE ESSENTIAL TO THE UK ECONOMY TO BE COMPETITIVE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD .
Industry partners not only provide support in developing the curriculum but also by giving valuable time to deliver a mix of employer-led projects , challenge days , masterclasses and skills workshops to the students as part of the programme .
More importantly , the programme is already having an impact , with the first set of UTC Heathrow graduates taking up apprenticeship roles with industry partners as a direct result of the programme . This is hugely important to the digital infrastructure industry , which is relied upon so heavily by the modern , digitally connected world , but is facing an on-going skills shortage .
Activate Learning Education Trust ( ALET ) and its supporting partners are proactively working to educate students in these important , transferable skills , helping to build a stronger , more sustainable future for the industry , as well as highlighting a new and rewarding career path option to the students .
With that in mind , UTC Heathrow , part of the Activate Learning Education Trust ( ALET ), has said it ’ s delighted to see the Digital Futures Programme rolled out to three of the Trust ’ s sister schools – UTC Reading , UTC Oxfordshire and UTC Swindon .
UTCs are secondary schools and sixth forms that focus on STEM subjects ( Science , Technology , Engineering and Maths ), allowing students to focus their learning on engineering , digital and science , alongside the core curriculum of English , Maths and Science .
The roll-out was announced at an event attended by nine of the employer partners – ( Amazon Web Services , ARK Data centres , CBRE , CNet Training , CyrusOne , Digital Realty , LMG , Virtus Data centres and Yondr ) – at UTC Reading on Friday 26 January .
Mike Halliday , Head of Employer Engagement at ALET , who has been instrumental in getting the programme off the ground , said : “ ALET is playing a critical part in building a skills pipeline essential to the UK economy to be competitive in the digital world . The Digital Futures Programme represents a unique opportunity for industry to be engaged at a programmatic level to transform the lives of younger people .”
Jo Harper , CEO of ALET , said : “ The UK is facing an unprecedented skills shortage : we need engineers , computer scientists and other digitally-skilled staff . The Digital Futures Programme is focused on equipping students with the skills to succeed in the digital industries , bringing together companies which are serious about acting to address the skills shortage with STEM-focused schools with specialisms in digital , engineering and science prepared to forge a new path for their students .” p
An award-winning education programme that gives students a head start into digital careers is rolling out to three Thames Valley schools
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