Over the last ten years there has been an explosion in the amount and types of data being shared and collected; data that is full of potentially interesting, important, and valuable information. Until recently however, it has been incredibly difficult and expensive to make sense of much of this data as it is often huge, complicated, and unstructured.
As a result of this there is a huge demand for skills in the emerging field of Data Science. Data Science is a multi-disciplinary field that uses scientific methods, processes, algorithms and systems to extract knowledge and insights from structured and unstructured data.
A prime example of the increased skills demand locally is the current recruitment drive by Lloyds Banking Group for Data Scientists as part of the creation of 500 highly-skilled jobs at their new digital tech hub in Edinburgh. However, there is currently a shortage of professionals with the required range of knowledge and skills, with many Scottish businesses facing recruitment challenges. This is where Edinburgh Napier University’s Graduate Apprenticeship in BSc (Hons) Data Science comes in!
Graduate Apprenticeships are an exciting and growing opportunity for people to study for an honours degree while in full-time, paid employment. Edinburgh Napier University were this year awarded more than double the number of funded places on offer from 90 last year to 185 for September 2019, offering courses in IT, Engineering and Business.
Developed by Skills Development Scotland with support from the European Social Fund, Graduate Apprenticeships bridge skills gaps in key areas of Scottish business. Anyone over the age of 16 living in Scotland is eligible, and there are no course fees to pay for apprentices or employers. Businesses of any size can benefit from Graduate Apprenticeships, with the university currently partnering with a wide range of employers: from micro-SMEs to international organisations and public sector bodies.
Launching in September 2019, the BSc (Hons) Data Science Graduate Apprenticeship at Edinburgh Napier University offers a day release experience. Participants spend one day a week in the classroom at university and four days a week at work in a relevant role. This method of delivery allows apprentices to continually bring new skills and knowledge into their job as they progress through the degree, while employers benefit from bridging key skills gaps while growing their own talent pool. What apprentices learn in university is embedded into their work, and what they do in work counts towards their degree through work-based learning modules that are tailored to their individual role.
The Data Science Graduate Apprenticeship at Edinburgh Napier delivers a holistic learning experience. Dr Thomas Methven, Senior Lecturer and programme lead for the Data Science GA, said: “this field excites me because it is so interdisciplinary. A good Data Scientist needs skills in computer science, statistics, and graphic design to manipulate, make sense of, and visualise data in an understandable way. This mix of skills is not one historically commonly taught, but is one that business and government are increasingly recognising as important. Indeed, Data Science is a core part of Scotland’s Data-Driven Innovation initiative, and large companies the world over are creating dedicated positions to hopefully gain new insights into their data. I believe that this concerted drive, combined with the growth and new funding for research in exciting sub-areas like Explainable AI, means that Data Science will continue to have a huge and important impact for the foreseeable future.”
John Pagliuca, Senior Vice President at SolarWinds MSP, has worked closely with Edinburgh Napier and sees a clear benefit to his organisation from their involvement in the Graduate Apprenticeship programme. He said, “The whole industry needs to address the skills gap, and we are proud to play an active role in helping to do so. If businesses want to recruit from a pool of excellent candidates, they need to be a part of creating that pool – this is exactly what our apprenticeship programme does”.
Fully funded places are still available at Edinburgh Napier University for the next intake, starting in September, including in Data Science. For more information on available programmes and partnership opportunities, please email ga@napier.ac.uk or visit www.napier.ac.uk/apprenticeships
