The Open University in Scotland will be hosting a panel session entitled: ‘Upskilling a Digital Nation’ as part of FutureScot’s Digital Scotland 2019 conference on Thursday, 30 May. The panel session is one of the event’s knowledge exchange masterclasses, starting at 11.20am.
Upskilling a Digital Nation – session topics:
Widening participation – How to reach a broader population and audience by fostering diversity and inclusion
Pathways – How industry and education/skills stakeholders can collaborate to create clear pathways for employees across the entirety of learning opportunities
Impact – What does ‘good’ look like, for now and in the future? How do we respond to current challenges whilst future-proofing businesses in the face of the fourth industrial revolution?
Panellists:
-Chair: Marie Hendry, Depute Director (External Engagement & Partnerships), The Open University in Scotland
-Talat Yaqoob, Director, Equate Scotland
-Joanna Campbell, Principal, Dumfries & Galloway College and Chair, Industry Advisory Committee, Digital Skills Partnership
Open University research found that last year, skills shortages cost Scottish businesses £352m and 30% of Scottish businesses struggled to recruit due to a shortage of IT skills in applicants.* The Open University in Scotland is providing wider access to digital skills and helping businesses to address IT skills gaps.
Amongst the programmes available, the Open University offers four work-based apprenticeship programmes:
-BSc (Honours) Cyber Security (Graduate Apprenticeship)
-BSc (Honours) IT: Management for Business (Graduate Apprenticeship)
-BSc (Honours) IT: Software Development (Graduate Apprenticeship)
-MSc in Cyber Security (Graduate Apprenticeship)
The apprenticeships are fully-funded by Skills Development Scotland and are available to new and existing employees 16 years of age and over. Registration is open now for the next programmes starting Autumn 2019. Find out more: http://www.open.ac.uk/business/apprenticeships/graduate-apprenticeships-scotland