“This is the future of the government’s investment in skills in the regions, where bootcamps and apprenticeships can come together in this brilliant talent provision. We are excited to offer this seamless transition, a key pathway from Skills Bootcamps to apprenticeships. Employers will benefit immensely from this new approach as we will have done the initial groundwork of nurturing and developing talent, so learners are fully prepared for technology career starts, creating the most capable, industry-ready talent in the UK,” Mo said.
David Marriott, UK Business Operations manager at Raytheon Professional Services, said: “The Skills Bootcamps plus apprenticeship progression model we have designed provides a robust education system where every person no matter their background will get the chance to achieve the highest levels of skills, qualifications and employment without the need of financial support, loans or tuition fees. Employers gain pre-skilled candidates who will make an impact on their business from day one of employment.
“We are a best-in-class provider of apprenticeships and always more than 20 per cent above the national average achievement rates. We look forward to continuing this success for the benefit of residents and employers in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and beyond.”
Emma Bateson, 30, from Salford, has multiple sclerosis and graduated from the cyber bootcamp at Skills City in December 2021. She is about to start an apprenticeship at IN4 Group as a cyber technician.
Emma said: “On the first day I was nervous and as a disabled woman going into cyber and tech, you sometimes don’t know how it will be taken. However, when I walked into the classroom I was greeted with kindness and support, something that carried on throughout my time on the cyber Skills Bootcamp. The lessons covered multiple technical topics such as networking, physical security like lock picking and card cloning, offensive security, and gaining access to virtual machines and encryption techniques. This is just a small part of the things I have learned.
“Not only that, but I also learned soft skills such as communications, networking via events and social media, working in groups and even doing presentations to the skills minister Alex Burghart. They also supported my confidence levels, encouraging me to get through the mental barriers I had put up in my head before the course, this helped me see my potential and to strive for success.
“Both these skills plus the immense support from Raytheon and IN4 put together have helped me get into a career I never thought I could have ended up in, but I am in now. It has taken me beyond my wildest dreams.”