From education to employment

GMCA awards digital marketing contract

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We Are Digital has won a contract with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (@greatermcr) to provide digital marketing training, addressing the skills gaps across Greater Manchester. The community investment and digital skills training provider, working with partner MIQ, will deliver both group and one-to-one sessions online, supporting 45 unemployed or underemployed Manchester residents to find new digital marketing roles.

Designed to solve in-work poverty and address national skills shortages, We Are Digital’s 12-week marketing course, Digital Boost, will provide participants with the skills and confidence they need to gain higher paid roles in digital industry. With guaranteed interviews on offer, attendees will learn how to plan, test, implement and refine digital campaigns, working as a team to design and present a commercial strategy.

Targeting individuals from diverse backgrounds, applications are particularly encouraged from women, black and minority ethnicity residents and those who have struggled to access training and education for financial reasons. Young people disadvantaged or displaced by Covid-19 are also a focus. The contract will be funded by the Department for Education.

“We were delighted to receive funding from the Fast Track Digital Workforce Fund, a joint initiative set up by the Department for Education and GMCA to address locally identified digital skills gaps,” said We Are Digital chief executive Matt Adam. “Our students will learn it is possible to take fresh ideas into competitive modern marketing businesses, while our training shows that diverse backgrounds are an advantage in an industry where authenticity and individual stories are highly prized.”

Over the course of the pandemic, digital and tech roles have remained in high demand, with advertised vacancies in this sector increasing by 36% from June to August 2020.*

We Are Digital is a social impact business working with housing associations, local and central government, and corporates to deliver positive and practical solutions to the problem of social exclusion across the UK.

For more information or to sign up, visit https://www.we-are-digital.co.uk/digitalboost/.

We Are Digital case study: Digital Boost  

Manchester resident Michael Adepapo undertook a Digital Boost digital marketing training course between January and July 2020. The course has enabled him to find work in a challenging climate:

“My first impressions of Digital Boost were that it was a little technical but I soon realised that We Are Digital are trying to help support all types of people. The course helped to improve my opportunities for work – I’ve had an increase in earnings capacity (well into the tens of thousands) – that’s a great return on investment from this course! The practical sessions from the We Are Digital trainer were key. The training was really personalised, slick, well-planned, and tailored – the trainer really knew his onions!

“Now I’m more comfortable financially. A year ago I wasn’t even working, was temporarily unemployed, and now I’m having to turn down jobs. Without Digital Boost, things would be a lot worse. We’d be struggling more financially and the pandemic would have made things impossible. It has been very empowering. I’ve been able to harness the skills, put them into practice, and make a success of it.

“I’ve learned to generate more website traffic and optimise searches, without having to pay lots of advertising costs. “These are great life skills and the We Are Digital training course contents are a goldmine. I happily endorse this course and seriously recommend it.”


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