Southwark Council has launched a Digital Academy, which will enable more than 100 council staff to develop skills in areas such as data analytics and business transformation.
This program underscores the council's commitment to continuous learning and development, preparing its workforce for an increasingly digital future. The initiative is part of the council’s 2024-2026 Technology & Digital Strategy to lead the way in harnessing data and technology to drive its services.
The apprenticeships are delivered by tech company Multiverse and include training in Data and Insights for Business Decisions and Business Transformation.
Dionne Lowndes, Chief Digital & Technology Officer at Southwark Council, said: “As part of our Digital Journey, we are focussed on giving our workforce the skills they need to deliver the ambitions of our newly launched Technology and Digital strategy. Enabling our workforce is key to giving the council the opportunity to use emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, automation and using Data as a key enabler.
Working with Multiverse has allowed us to make this an organisational wide opportunity. We have over 100 Digital Champions in our network who work across the organisation to support others with training and support on new systems. This has given the opportunity for them to become specialists and potentially move into a career within the technology Industry.”
Launched in March, the first cohort of more than 40 have already enrolled on professional apprenticeships, with 80 more set to start over the next 2 months, and continued launches throughout the rest of the year.
The training will be delivered by tech company Multiverse, which has created more than 15,000 apprenticeships in the UK and US. Multiverse apprentices receive access to on-demand coaching, personalised learning, and an active community where they can learn from peers and grow their network.
Alex Varel, CRO at Multiverse, said: “ A councils’ ability to deliver the best services for residents is contingent on having high quality skills in their teams. Southwark Council has recognised this - and through their investment in people they will be able to better serve the people of Southwark in a more data-driven way.”
