Leeds Beckett University will host DigitalLEAP, a six-week pilot project, to give students an understanding of the skills required for a career in digital and tech industries.
The night-classes cover a different topic each week, with advice and guidance about working in the industry and practical workshops on coding, problem-solving and a hackathon. Local digital and tech industries have contributed to the course programme, giving students an insight into real-work situations, outside of their own degree subjects.
Richard Stringer, employer engagement consultant who is leading the pilot, said: “My role connects graduate talent to the Leeds digital economy. There’s a real shortage of digital and tech skills in the city and I came up with the idea to create the Digital Leap workshops to see if we could attract students into these roles.
“Lots of local businesses, who will benefit from closing this skills gap, have offered support in creating these workshops and events including Sky Bet, NHS Digital and Ten10 and some of the events are company specific.
“This pilot should give all students a greater understanding of the industry and the chance to see if it is something they might consider going into after university. They’ll get a certificate upon completion and will get to visit one of our guest companies, so it’s great experience all round.”
Clare Vidler, Conference Manager, Well Met, said: “We’re delighted in supporting our colleagues in hosting the DigitalLEAP workshops and keep it on campus at the Rose Bowl. This striking building is conveniently located for city centre businesses to come along and present at the digital workshops and share their working knowledge of the digital tech industries with undergraduates investigating their career options.”
