Skills Bootcamps: Everything you need to know
Details: Written by The Skills Network
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Following on from the Government’s £3bn investment in skills development, there’s been a lot of talk in the press, and within the education sector about Skills Bootcamps.
With this amount of information flying around, it can be tricky to get your head around it all, so we thought we’d compile it all into one handy place so that you can find out everything you need to know about Bootcamps.
What are Skills Bootcamps?
Skills Bootcamps are part of a new Government initiative designed to close the skills gap in the UK. This skills gap has been exacerbated by the disruption that coronavirus caused to job sectors and businesses. With the expectation that 90% of jobs will require some form of digital skills within the next ten years and 22% of the population currently lacking basic digital skills*, Skills Bootcamps are a way for businesses, employers, and workers to gain knowledge and experience which will be increasingly vital over the next few years.
Why are Skills Bootcamps important?
With the demand for digital skills increasing every year, and this looking to only continue in the coming years, it is vital for individuals and businesses that these skills are widely possessed. Bootcamps are a great way for learning to become accessible to individuals who would not have this option otherwise. As you can access the digital bootcamps online, the skills bootcamps provids individuals with an accessible way to learn new skills without having to attend in-person classes and opens doors for career progression and employment opportunities that they may not have had access to previously.
The pandemic also led to staff shortages across a variety of sectors and the “great resignation” was a real problem for many businesses when workers decided to move onto new roles after critically examining their lives and jobs during lockdown. With both a widening digital skills gap in workers and not enough workers to fill vacancies, businesses must now invest in developing their staff not just to increase performance and the success of their business, but also to keep staff feeling challenged and maintain high job satisfaction. After all, your business can’t be a leading competitor without staff who want to do well for their company and who have the up-to-date, relevant training to do so.
Who are Skills Bootcamps for?
Bootcamps are for everyone, whether your in work or unemployed. As the course is completed online, these courses are also perfect for individuals who may not have access to in-person learning resources or who need to learn around other commitments as you can learn in your own time, fit the course around your busy schedule and learn from the comfort of your own home. This flexibility makes the courses more accessible to a wider range of the population and so this will contribute to the reduction of the national skills gaps.
What Skills Bootcamps do The Skills Network offer?
We currently offer two skills bootcamps in the West Midlands and three in the East of England. These are Data Analyst and Digital Marketing in the West Midlands with the addition of Technical Sales in the East of England.
How long does a Skills Bootcamp take to complete?
The skills Bootcamps that we offer at The Skills Network take approximately 11-16 weeks to complete and include between 8-10 units.
Why is there a digital skills gap?
With many businesses having no choice but to move to remote working during the pandemic, many workers experienced working from home for the first time. With this dramatic change in working, programs like Microsoft Teams and Zoom experienced exceptional growth as they supported the new needs of businesses and employees needing to communicate remotely. Using these programs alone requires digital literacy and, with remote working being a popular choice for many employers and workers, this way of working looks as though it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. This reliance on technology widens the skills gap even further and means that individuals without access to these resources may be left behind and isolated. Investing time into teaching individuals the fundamental digital skills that they need to excel in modern life in an accessible, economically viable way means that we can benefit both workers and businesses by arming individuals with the skills they need to be successful in their personal and professional lives.
Find out more about our East of England Skills Bootcamps here.
And our West Midlands Bootcamps here.
If you’d like to read more about the skills gaps in the UK, check out our Skills Gap Trend Report here.