Digital Innovators secures local employers to boost digital skills among diverse young people

Digital Innovators used its participation in Birmingham Tech Week to announce that it has secured the support from 25 major regional employers including HS2, the NHS and Vanti for its Digital Ideator programme.

Run in partnership with Bruntwood SciTech, the UK’s leading property provider dedicated to the growth of the science and tech sector, the programme gives young people, who are either currently studying at college, unemployed or not receiving formal education, access to unique career changing opportunities with sector leading employers across the West Midlands.

Digital Innovators is currently based within the Knowledge Quarter at the region’s leading tech and digital campus, Innovation Birmingham, one of 11 locations within Bruntwood SciTech’s national network of innovation districts.

As a not-for-profit training provider, Digital Innovators specialises in facilitating digital skills development within the region which aims to address the £50Bn national gap in digital skills. The Digital Ideator programme launched at the start of 2022 and is supporting 382 students in the region.

Digital Innovators’ collaborative approach brings together education providers, businesses and community organisations. Young people develop confidence, awareness of digital career paths, new skills, work experience and access to new routes to employment. Students gain this experience and exposure by working on innovation challenge projects set by employers from around the region.

Being located at Innovation Birmingham, students on the programme become part of, and are surrounded by, the community of tech businesses and can attend a wide variety of events run by Bruntwood SciTech, a partnership between Bruntwood and Legal & General.

Mick Westman, founder and managing director of Digital Innovators, said: “It’s brilliant to partner with Bruntwood SciTech on the Digital Ideator programme so that we can offer amazing career development opportunities for young people with local employers. Delivering the programme at the Innovation Birmingham tech campus gives students access to a professional work environment and a community of large enterprises as well as digital entrepreneurs.”

Jamie Clyde, Director of Innovation Services at Bruntwood SciTech, said: “Our partnership with Digital Innovators is a great example of our commitment to addressing the digital skills gap across the UK. There is an urgent need for us to expand the pool of digital talent to support the growth of the tech sector and other sectors too. To do this, we need to engage diverse communities, demonstrate the opportunities available, and give them the skills and support to participate and thrive within the new digital economy.”