Wilson James launches Data Academy in bid to “democratise” skill sets

The Wilson James Data Academy will be offered to the 200-plus managers working across the business, with 15 enrolled in the first cohort. Training will be delivered by tech start-up Multiverse through professional apprenticeships.

This move is part of the company’s drive to harness data in its operations with a growing focus on business intelligence, while also offering its myriad colleagues career growth and development opportunities.

Research carried out by the Government has found that almost a quarter of employees use data skills in the course of their work, yet a shortage of skills in this area is estimated to cost UK businesses £2 billion each year. In 2019, one in every ten job vacancies required data expertise, while at present upwards of 100,000 data-centric positions remain unfilled.

Significant investment

Tom Giles, head of business intelligence and improvement at Wilson James, observed: “Over the last two years, the business has invested significantly in its IT infrastructure and platforms, allowing us to generate and track information in new and sophisticated ways. Our executive and leadership Boards have seen the positive impact of this. Now, we are making sure that our wider management cohort sees the benefits as well.”

Giles added: “Doing this requires an investment in talent, which we’re making through the Data Academy delivered in partnership with Multiverse.”

Further, Giles explained: “Developing these new skills across the business will enable us to ‘democratise’ data and instil a culture of data-driven decision- making across the company. Our overriding ambition is to harness data as a business intelligence tool at multiple layers of our organisations, in turn improving efficiency and delivery for customers.”

Employees who participate in the upskilling opportunity will be enrolled on one of two data programmes provided by Multiverse. The 13-month Data Literacy programme covers the core technical skills required to transform data into insights, as well as softer skills like building narratives and presenting findings.

Meanwhile, the 15-month Data Fellowship affords apprentices the skills to clean, analyse and model data as well as tell data stories to non-specialists.

Critical component

Jeremy Duggan, president of Multiverse, stated: “Collecting, analysing, presenting and acting on data is a critical component of business success, no matter the industry sector in which a company resides. However, the skills to interact with data are in short supply.”

Duggan went on to state: “With a forward-thinking approach to skills management, Wilson James is focused on both developing its people and enhancing its business capabilities through apprenticeships. Those on the programmes will benefit from world-class learning, personalised coaching and access to a community of professionals across the UK.”

Training provider Multiverse recently announced the closing of a $220 million Series D funding round to be invested back into its programmes and technology and now trains over 8,000 tech, leadership and digital apprentices. The business received an ‘Outstanding’ rating in every category from Ofsted (the only provider of its size and sector that can claim this significant accolade).