Digital

Helping Londoners get jobs in digital professions

Dubbed the fourth industrial revolution, digital advancements are sweeping across society, business, and education. A report from the Government’s Digital Economy Council shows that the UK Digital industry has expanded tenfold over the last 10 years, with venture capital investment in the sector growing from £1.3 billion in 2010 to £12 billion in 2020.

Our partnership with employers, trade sector bodies, and strategic community partners create career development pathways for Londoners to secure jobs and build rewarding careers in areas such as cybersecurity, software development, and cloud development. We have supported more than 2,000 Londoners secure education and subsequently employment in the digital sector. Jobs that you could get into include:

IT and Essential Digital Skills
Software Engineer
Cyber Security
Data Analyst
Digital Marketing
Cloud Management
UX/Web Design
Programming and Coding

The training through our Digital Academy Hub gives you a valuable insight into the careers available in the digital sector.

Our Mayor’s Skills Academies are all credited by The Quality Mark which identifies our academies to be excellent, industry-relevant training in the capital. The Quality Mark Statement also represents our commitment to including a combination of sector specific questions, and wider cross cutting issues like diversity and inclusion, sustainability, Good Work and the engagement of under-represented groups.

Mayor’s Skills Academies

The Mayor of London’s Skills Academies supports Londoners get into careers and the capital’s long-term economic growth as part of the Mayor’s London Recovery Plan in response to the COVID pandemic.

Westminster Kingsway College, as part of Capital City College Group (CCCG), has secured funding to run this academy.

In total, CCCG has secured £1.5 million £1.5 million to run four academy hubs to help Londoners into Good Work and reduce the employment gap between different groups of Londoners, this includes people who are newly unemployed as well as people facing inequality and who are underrepresented in each sector:

Mayor ESF (European Social Fund) Skills Academies

Depending on your individual learning situation, we can offer additional support through the Mayor’s ESF Skills Academy to:

Incorporate effective careers advice and guidance, job search support, employer contact and occupational profiling to help you find the job that’s right for you.
Combine effective wrap around support, personal support, and employability support to help you become fully confident and develop experience, skills and competencies needed to secure employment.
Improve your chances of securing employment with organisations that are committed to “Good Work”; to ensure you have regular working patterns and London living wage.
Incorporate employer led training to equip you with the skills that are directly sought by employers.

Empowering under-represented groups and low-income households

The training and employment available through the Mayor of London’s Skills Academies is tailored to meet the needs and aspirations of under-represented groups and low-income households, and addresses the entrenched and structural barriers that prevent these groups from accessing sustainable Good Work opportunities. These groups include

People from Black and ethnic minority groups
Women
Unemployed people
People earning below the London living wage
Young people
Lone parents and people with caring responsibilities
Disabled people
People aged 50+

Our Facilities

All our students in the digital sector will have access to our world-class facilities including:

Classrooms and lecture theatres
Computer suites
Event, conference, and meeting rooms
Use of high spec digital media and IT equipment

Click here to see our full list of Digital Bootcamp courses at WestKing

Student Testimonials

“I really enjoyed the collaborative nature of the course. The sessions were all online, which can sometimes lead to awkward and sterile learning environments, but the trainer did a great job of keeping us engaged and actively participating.

“The staff at the college have been accommodating, calling me regularly to see how I was doing and whether I was enjoying the course, and offered me a place on a CV workshop that I think has been beneficial for my job search.

“I’d recommend this course to anyone looking to get a solid introduction to these topics or if you’re curious about them. Like anything, I’d say the more you put in, the more you get out, so don’t be afraid to be engaged and ask questions. Most of all, enjoy it!”

THOMAS TONCHEV-WILLIAMS

MAP Training – Digital Marketing and Social Media Bootcamp
Westminster Kingsway College

Thomas Tonchev-Williams was struggling to find a job in the digital sector when he met the Digital MAP team at the Westminster Careers Fair in October 2022. He wanted to move into the digital sector and gain new skills so he could progress into a good career. After one-to-one IAG, employability support and advice sessions, he was enrolled onto the MAP Digital Marketing and Social Media Bootcamp.

Before applying for the course, Thomas had finished an MA but was still looking for work and thought that this course would be an excellent way to build his skills in the meantime.

Thomas chose to sign up to the MAP Training – Digital Marketing and Social Media Bootcamp as he was impressed by the course description, and being creatively minded, thought that digital marketing and social media were two areas that offer room for creativity within the broader tech world.

Andrico overcame the odds to become accepted onto a prestigious Digital Engineering Degree Apprenticeship with leading global financial firm Goldman Sachs. He came to the college with no relevant qualifications and struggled to gain a place in sixth form. At college, Andrico took an English and maths assessment and enrolled on a BTEC Level 3 in computing along with GCSE English and maths.

Andrico’s college tutors and support teams at Westminster Kingsway College noticed his tech-savviness and supported him every step of the way through his BTEC and the demanding application process for degree apprenticeship programmes. Andrico was a Deputy Student Governor and WestKing Digital Skills Ambassador. He undertook work experience and was also an active member of the college’s Early Careers Support Programme, which provides tailored support to students applying for higher apprenticeships. He was supported with one-to-one application guidance, employer taster and networking sessions, mock assessment centres, interview practice and apprenticeship fairs, as well as panel and guest speaker events.

Andrico achieved an impressive triple Distinction star grade and even turned down an offer from a Russell Group university and two other digital employers to join Goldman Sachs’s degree apprenticeship programme.

“WestKing is a great place to learn. [It] helped me to build relevant skills and knowledge and I was supported by my tutor and the wider teaching staff throughout. The college’s Careers and Employability Team also ran lots of events and programmes that helped develop my employability skills and supported me when applying for degree apprenticeships.”

ANDRICO

Westminster Kingsway College

Learn digital skills with employers, training providers, and trade-bodies

The Central District Alliance (CDA) Business Improvement District (BID) is the collective voice of over 400 enterprises in Camden’s Holborn, Bloomsbury and St Giles and Islington’s Farringdon and Clerkenwell neighbourhoods. They represent a highly diversified commercial and cultural base of creative, educational, legal, medical, professional, scientific, and technological brands of global significance – generating a contribution to London’s GVA second only to the city. One of the BID’s core priorities is addressing the economic recovery of the Capital, in particular focusing on the hospitality and digital industry and creating opportunities for both the businesses and communities within the district to thrive.

Dentsu, a digital marketing and data analytics communications company working with some of the largest brands in the UK, provides our Hub students with Good Work opportunities.

Digital Influx, the world’s first EdTech company to teach young people User Experience (UX) design, they support our cutting edge training and connecting with industry to provide pathways into the digital sector.

Gigl is a tech start-up that has secured funding to develop further its free job app to find on-demand jobs, and supports with the development of key roles in the app tech space for Hub students.

Techskills (part of Tech UK), represent some of the largest digital and IT sector employers in the UK, generates Good Work opportunities for our Hub students.

Loving social media is a digital marketing specialist, are committed to working with our Hub to generate career opportunities.

Profusion specialises in AI and data analytics, have committed to offering Hub students progression opportunities, sharing best practice and industry intelligence.

Morality and Knowledge in Artificial Intelligence (MKAI) is a Development Agency and Global Technology Stakeholder Community serving the needs of Governments and Educational Institutions to help them develop, deploy and govern emerging technologies. Their focus areas include AI, Blockchain, the Metaverse, Web3 and GreenTech.

Verizon, a digital, telecoms and IT services provider, has committed to supporting our Hub with training and employment pathways and strategic support in training and advice.

A flexible and supportive approach to digital skills training

We provide free training opportunities and support packages to help you get a job in the digital sector. We do this by providing bespoke flexible programmes that fit around your circumstances and availability. Our aim is to give you the confidence and skills you need to be employable within 3 to 4 weeks, and a guaranteed job interview with an employer who is accredited with the Good Work Standard. For those who need that extra support we work with ESF Academies to ensure everyone can benefit from our Academies and sector opportunities. Training includes:

Short 2–3-week introductory courses
Online bitesize Learning from Level 2 to Level 6 qualifications
Masterclasses for in-demand roles, delivered in partnership with employers
Day and week-long bootcamps
Sector-based work combining training and work experience, leading to guaranteed interviews and employment.
Personalised Information Advice and Guidance, careers advice and Job search.
Tailored Sector employability workshops
Award in employability Level 1 and Level 2
Advice and guidance for self-employment

You can also access a wide range of personal and ‘soft skills’ training, and individual support to address your barriers to training and employment:

Workshops in specific personal and employability skills, for example resilience, communication.
Multiple step-on and step-off points for greater flexibility
Free additional courses up to Level 3 in a wide range of areas
Personal tutors
Mentoring
Apprenticeships and work experience including pre-apprenticeships and pre-employment training
Industry engagement and careers support sessions with employers
Work experience
Equipment
Help with job applications, writing your CV and cover letters

How to apply

All our courses are part of the academies. Choose a relevant course, and the Academy will then work with you to ensure you are able to access the course.

Courses include: