Creating brighter futures

Last year we launched two free Digital Skills Bootcamps, as part of the Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee and Plan for Jobs.

The 12-week Bootcamp gave learners the opportunity to learn the skills needed by employers, to become a Coder or a Cloud Analyst – as well as connecting learners with local employers who were recruiting for these specific skills.

Due to popular demand, our FREE Digital Skills Bootcamps are back this year! Click here to find out more information about what we're offering, with courses including Intro to Coding and Working with Data!

We caught up with Louise, who completed the Skills Bootcamp last year to become a Cloud Analyst.

What were you doing before applying for the Digital Skills Bootcamp?

My previous role was managing accounts payable team, but after being made redundant I wanted to learn new skills and try something a little bit different.

What have you learnt on the course?

I learnt the fundamentals of cloud technology but also it covered data structures and how different data is ingested and stored. We were supported by a great teacher as well, who made it easy for us to learn and put our theory into practice.

How will this benefit you in your career?

This new knowledge has given me a good grounding to support the azure cloud-based software, especially as databases underpin all software. When a bug is raised, I can also look to automate testing and new processes or scripts when required.

What was the highlight of the course?

The Bootcamp was great, it taught me lots of new skills which will benefit me as mentioned previously, but my personal highlight was passing first time.

What has happened after completing the course?

I have started a new job with Zahara software - cloud based purchasing software. I’m second line support but they are training me up to do dev ops (MS Azure).

How did the Bootcamp set you up for a change in job?

The course helped me understand cloud technology foundations and gave me the spark to further my knowledge.

What would you say to someone considering studying on this Bootcamp?

My advice to anyone doing the course, is to make the time to study and be focused. Do as many mock exams as possible and practise in the labs. Take full advantage of the teacher and ask as many questions as possible.

Don't forget to check out and sign up for our Free Digital Skills Bootcamps here!

Nine Graduating 3rd year BA Graphic Design learners recently presented an exhibition of their work at ‘New Designers’ at Business Design centre in London. Some had previously completed a range of level 3 qualifications with Weston College, such as Graphic Design Extended Diploma, and Computing Extended Diploma.

The ‘New Designers’ event invites 2500 hand-picked graduate design talents from around the UK to present their work at the longest running and leading design showcase over a period of two weeks. UCW’s learners had the chance to show off their best designing work at the prestigious event, even with the possibility of winning awards.

The event also provides the chance for graduates to connect with big employers like Sky, looking to recruit. As well as employers, there are also buyers looking to source the most innovative craft and design. This networking event is a great opportunity to display potential career roles to the graduates, begin helping them make decisions in what their future goals are, and how to reach them!

Graphic Design degrees can have a broad array of careers available to graduates, but more than half of graduates in employment in the UK got a job in graphic design in the first six months after graduation.

Vicki King, the Higher Education Graphic Design Co-ordinator commented: "The learner's work came together in a super professional looking stand - we could not be more proud!”

She continued: “One of the key benefits of this event is learning how to represent themselves, something which all students grew to excel at during the exhibition."

Congratulations to everyone involved for this wonderful achievement!

Rebecca is currently completing her Digital and Technical Solutions course, as an apprentice, and has recently competed in the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Championships.

The MOS Championship is an extension of the MOS certification programme, launched in 2010 to assess learner’s knowledge to prepare them for university and the workplace. The championship welcomes students from all over the world to compete head-to-head to win the title of MOS Champion.

Rebecca had previously completed the Excel course on the programme, so was familiar with MOS, and heard Weston College were running and had beat the MOS Course Week challenge but hadn’t heard of the full Championship at the time.

Completing the week challenge was motivation for Rebecca to then complete the Word Associate Course on the 23rd May, and whilst doing this, selected the option to enter the championship if she scored high enough on the associate course, not thinking she would ever reach the next stage. The associate course was to be carried out online, so Rebecca finished the projects, each of which containing 5-7 individual tasks to showcase her advanced skills on Word, and scored high enough on the course to be entered into the championship!

The final took place on the 15th June, and Rebecca completed the hour long exam in just 20 minutes! The exam ended up being slightly easier than she was expecting, but she believed this was due to rigorous revision of practice exams and questions on the lead up and on the day.

Overall, out of 30 competitors, Rebecca placed in sixth, with a score of 95%!

Rebecca commented: “If you’re reading this and thinking of entering next year, practice as much as you can; LinkedIn learning have a huge range of courses that are really helpful for practicing and have loads of training material.”

She continued: “The whole experience has been wonderful, and I never thought I’d get the chance to compete in a competition like this. I’m thrilled with my final score, and the skills I’ve gained from partaking are highly valuable; I’ll carry them with me all throughout my apprenticeship and future career.”

Congratulations, Rebecca!