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Digital experts debate tech at Newcastle College

Digital experts from across the UK put their skills to the test recently at the official launch of Newcastle College’s Digital Skills Academy, 20/20 : A Digital Vision.

The college lined up a panel of influencers, employers and educators to discuss in an open forum how to plug the skills gaps that currently exists in UK Tech.

Recent studies forecast that the EU labour market will face a shortage of up to 384,000 ICT practitioners by 2015. At the event the college hosted employers from across the regions digital and ICT sector to debate these challenges with a panel of experts which included, Herb Kim, Founder, Thinking Digital, Wyndham Lewis, Executive Director, British Interactive Media Association (BIMA),Bob Paton, NE Managing Director, Accenture, Janet Richards, Higher and Further Education and Cyber Security Adviser, eSkills UK and Gordon Stuart, Apprenticeship Programme Lead, Hewlett-Packard.

The event was also an opportunity for guests to see the new programmes and facilities the Digital Skills Academy has put in place as well as meet the next generation of programmers, developers, consultants and creatives training to become the ICT workforce of the future.

Geoff O’ Neil, director of the Digital Skills Academy at Newcastle College said : “We were delighted to have such a talented and experienced panel of experts at the launch. There is an incredible shortage of ICT practitioners and it is important to debate the issues facing the industry.

He added : “The Academy was created to address the digital skills gap within the region and to provide a pipeline to employment for students from the region supported by local industry.

“To ensure we provide our learners with the best opportunities for employment we have integrated industry professional qualifications into many of our core programmes, including CISCO, Microsoft and and all our programmes are developed through close collaboration with employers and professional bodies, such as e-skills. Long term work placements within industry also prepare our learners and support our employers to meet the needs of staff recruitment and help fill skills gaps.”

The Academy also provide bespoke training programmes for employees to enable CPD, progression and flexibility within their job role. These programmes can range from basic to advanced/professional skills across the full range of vocational IT subject areas.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Newcastle College .