UTC Heathrow, which takes students from a wide catchment area, is the first school in the country to launch a Digital Futures Programme – a new curriculum aimed at giving students the best possible start to a career in the digital infrastructure industry.
The sector is experiencing unprecedented growth but is facing a skills shortage.
The curriculum was designed in collaboration with leading industry organisations, who have committed funds and resources. These organisation are: CNet Training, techUK, VIRTUS Data Centres, CyrusOne, CBRE Data Centers, Amazon Web Services (AWS), LMG, ARK Data Centres, Crown Hosting and Yondr.
The idea for the Digital Futures Programme came from a meeting between Andrew Stevens, President and CEO of CNet Training, and the Baker Dearing Trust, an organisation which develops university technical colleges (UTCs).
“The skills gap is not getting any easier for the digital infrastructure industry,” said Andrew Stevens, President and CEO of CNet Training.
“This is a problem the industry can only tackle head-on by working collectively. We need to showcase the amazing career opportunities within the sector and help young people to prepare for and access them.”
Emma Fryer, Associate Director at techUK, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that data centre operators are pulling together as a team to define and deliver a meaningful long-term benefit for the sector – a pipeline of young talent with the skills we need.”
Lord Baker, chairman of the Baker Dearing Trust, said: “The commitment from leading global organisations to launch the Digital Futures Programme is a clear demonstration that the UTC education model has real value.
“It creates a blueprint for how STEM sectors can engage strategically with education to build sustainable skills pipelines. It puts the local commercial and industrial companies at the heart of education. They know what skills their young employees must have and that is what a UTC does. This is an excellent example for many schools across the country.”
* With good transport links, UTC Heathrow accepts students from a large catchment. For more information on this and the Digital Futures Programme see www.heathrow-utc.org
