A new scheme has been launched in the West Midlands that aims to help both individuals and companies combat digital skills gaps with the stated aim of protecting thousands of jobs threatened by the coronavirus pandemic.

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will fund the new Foundation Certificate in digital Skills.

The course will give people access to a series of online ‘masterclasses’ that can be completed at home, to equip them with skills around Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, Robotic Process Automation and Smart Thinking.

The sessions will be delivered by a company called Scale & Scope alongside a global online learning platform called Elevate.ac.

More than 2,000 people have already signed up but there’s still thousands of places available for free for anyone interested in upskilling or for organisations looking to redeploy their staff to avoid making redundancies.

There’s a lot of uncertainty in the region at the moment and we want to do everything we can to equip people with the type of skills companies are increasingly looking for. Digital is where the business world is going and we have been able to secure funding that gives us free access to Elevate.ac, which is one of the leading virtual learning platforms in the world. It’s like the ‘Netflix’ of digital skills courses, with participants able to log-in and take four mandatory courses and three masterclasses to suit their specific role or interests, in order to secure the certificate. We’ve targeted two main groups…people out of work and looking to make themselves more employable for new opportunities and companies who are embracing digital transformation and need to upskill workers in order to keep them in jobs.

Matthew Snelson - Managing Director, Scale & Scope

The Digital Foundation Skills Certificate can be completed any time over the next three months, at times that are convenient for the learners, with people encouraged to sign up by the end of September.

For candidates completing the programme, we are also creating pro-memberships of Elevate.ac where individuals can post their video profiles and get coaching from the team to help them gain employment. Alongside the Digital Foundation Certificate, the pro-membership package is valued at £2500. Our project will create a pool of people ready for employment, as well as a fantastic opportunity for companies and start-ups to become better placed to make the most of digital opportunities.