The Bournemouth & Poole College is at the forefront for training the region’s future talent in the booming digital technology sector and is set to launch its latest digital course on cyber security at its Open Event on 15th March.
A national report, Tech Nation (TN), highlights the Bournemouth and Poole area as having the third highest density of digital technology companies in the UK.
The report also highlights the area is in the UK’s top ten “cluster groups” for employment growth in digital services, and for having a thriving agency community working in digital advertising and marketing.
Between 2010 and 2014, digital technology industries in the UK grew 32% faster than the rest of the economy. New apps, software development, data management and analytics are leading the charge.
According to the TN study, the challenge is to maintain these growth levels against a shortfall in digital skills. The Bournemouth & Poole College has been developing courses to help meet this need, including Apprenticeships in Digital Marketing and Social Media.
Their latest digital course, which will be accepting students from September 2016, will focus on cyber security. Cyber security has been brought to the forefront following a number of data breaches at companies including Talk Talk, Sony and Ashley Madison. An article in the Telegraph at the end of last year highlighted that cyber crime is estimated to cause £34bn worth of damage to the UK economy each year. It also highlighted that the demand for cyber security experts has quadrupled to a record high over the past year.
Sharon Mackett, Head of Management Admin and IT at The College, said: “Data breaches and hacking incidents are costing companies millions of pounds in lost revenue and fines each year. We are all very excited about our plans to help train experts in this field. This new course will be available from September 2016 as aa full-time course and an Apprenticeship. We are also working closely with Bournemouth University to develop feeder courses into their undergraduate programmes.”
Andrew Henning, Chief Executive Officer of Bournemouth’s Redweb, one of the most successful digital marketing agencies in the south, said: “It is excellent that the Tech Nation report has highlighted the success the Bournemouth and Poole area is having as a leading UK digital hub in the UK.
“At Redweb we are looking forward to further developing the current digital Apprenticeship programme in partnership with The Bournemouth & Poole College. We want to ensure that our region remains at the forefront of this vital sector. The challenge we and The College need to address is developing young people that are trained to be confident across the board with digital skills.”
Last year Redweb took on all seven graduates from The College’s digital marketing course, which is now in its second year.
Bournemouth has also proved to be an attractive setting for events designed to lift the profile of the digital community such as Meetdraw, Silicon Beach, and Digital Wave. It has co-working spaces including By The Sea and Factory Studios and even the council in Bournemouth was involved - winning a Digital Council of the Year award last year.
The Bournemouth & Poole College’s Open Event takes place on 15th March, 4-8pm at both its North Road and Lansdowne sites.
