Westminster Digital Hub

Launching in January 2022 as part of the Mayor's Skills Academies Programme, the Westminster Digital Hub is an innovative new partnership of training providers, digital employers, local authorities and third sector organisations aiming to get Londoners into good, well-paid work in the digital sector.

The Digital Hub will encompass the four neighbouring London boroughs of the City of Westminster, Wandsworth, Camden, and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Our Course Offer

View our digital, computing and coding courses

Our Partners

The Westminster Digital Hub is part of the Mayor's Skills Academies Programme.

The initial partners in the Westminster Digital Hub include:

• University of Westminster
• Exceptional Individuals
• Westminster Employment*
• Westminster Employment Service
• Wandsworth Borough Council
• Action for Race Equality
• Windsor Fellowship
• Robert Half Talent Solutions
• GK Apprenticeships
• Westminster Adult Education Servics (WAES)

We expect further partners will join the Hub over time. If your organisation is interested in joining you can find out more in the Get Involved section below.

Jobs for the Future

Whilst basic digital skills have been identified as in demand, targeted provision already exists to address this like the Essential Digital Skills programme at WAES. The Westminster Digital Hub will therefore focus on digital skills from Level 2 upwards and promoting employment in occupations identified as hard-to-fill vacancies in the sector due to a skills gap. Alongside programming and software development roles, specific areas of focus will include:

• mobile and cloud computing
• programming languages like SQL, Java and C#
• CRM, customer relationship management
• fintech
• AI, artificial intelligence
• cyber security coding
• digital transformation
• graphic design and social media
• digital project management
• UX, user experience design
• web design and web development

Quality Mark

WAES has also been awarded a Mayor's Skills Academies Quality Mark for Digital, recognising its high-quality provision that helps equip Londoners with the skills they need to get into good work in priority sectors.

Get Involved

Whether you're someone with no prior tech experience who is looking to gain a qualification and start working in a digital role, or an employer looking to recruit digital specialists to help you navigate the ongoing technological transition, find out how you can benefit from the Westminster Digital Hub below.

 

As a learner you will benefit from a wraparound approach to help you get into good work in the digital sector or in a digital role in another sector. We will be able to highlight routes into and career pathways within each sector, helping under-represented groups to navigate and overcome barriers to entry.

 

By bringing together the expertise of learning providers, mentoring services, third sector organisations, recruiters and employers into a partnership, you will always have clear advice on your next steps as part of a joined-up process to reach your goals. 

 

For further information on opportunities to start your journey with the Westminster Digital Hub, please email info@waes.ac.uk or call 020 7297 7297.

 

 

For inspiration, you can find out more about the recent graduation of our first cohort to complete the AWS re/Start programme at WAES.

 

"With no IT background, after going through this three months' rigorous training I'm more confident, I'm already applying for jobs and I'm studying for Solutions Architecture which is a level up so I'm really confident."

 

Zahed Shaik, who successfully completed the AWS re/Start programme at WAES

 

Employers will benefit from a pipeline of eager potential recruits, helping employ staff into those hard-to-fill vacancies. We will also support employers to address structural barriers to engagement, recruitment, retention and progression for under-represented groups in their industry and workforce.

 

For further information on potential partnership opportunites for employers as part of the Westminster Digital Hub, please email our Digital Hub Coordinator Candice Fanning on cfanning@waes.ac.uk

 

Across London thousands of people are being unfairly excluded from education and employment because they do not have the skills, infrastructure or devices they need to get online. London boroughs are part of this vital pan-London mission to close the digital divide and enable all Londoners to access services and opportunities digitally, including digital careers.

 

Alongside the near-universal demand for basic digital skills, many employers require advanced digital skills, with one in four employers (27%) saying that most of their workers require skills at this level. Research shows that 60% of businesses believe that their reliance on advanced digital skills is set to increase over the next five years (‘Disconnected: Exploring the digital skills gap’).

 

The same report informs us that employers who do face digital skills gaps tend to rely on on-the-job training and recruitment to fill these gaps. However, many employers have struggled to recruit workers with the digital skills they need, particularly advanced digital skills, and employer investment in training in the UK is low compared to other advanced economies, and has even declined in recent years.