This new partnership between The Data Lab and the Tay Cities Digital Skills Project — funded by the Scottish Government — aims to address the Scottish digital skills gap, help the country’s tech industry to be more diverse, and prepare participants for jobs at increasingly digitised, automated, and data-driven workplaces.

Before its extension to the Tay Cities region, Data Lab’s Data Skills for Work Programme previously upskilled more than 500 learners (53% of whom identify as women, and 32% as an ethnic minority) in Edinburgh, delivering training in coding, data analytics, and data visualisation.

Further and Higher education institutions and other training providers based in Dundee, Angus, North East Fife, and Perth & Kinross can apply for up to £10,000 to facilitate data training courses for a minimum of 20 participants each. Courses can be delivered multiple times (and so applicants can apply to deliver more than one course), but the courses must be completed by 30 September 2023.

The data courses will be free for learners who earn less than £24,000 per year, are not already in training, or belong to one of the following groups: women, people with a disability, people from a minority ethnic background, and neurodivergent individuals.

“We are calling on providers who can offer training in crucial data skills and capabilities, including data analytics, data ethics and governance, coding, Artificial Intelligence, machine learning skills and data engineering,” said Anna Ashton Scott, Programme Manager for Professional Development at The Data Lab.

“We are also particularly interested in proposals that align with priority industry sectors for the region, which include engineering, manufacturing, tourism, food and drink.”

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Gordon Mole, Head of Business and Employability at Fife Council, who are the lead for the Tay Cities Digital Skills Project, added: “Data skills are essential for everyone’s job now. This proposal gives training providers in the Tay Cities region the opportunity to deliver new skills to residents, helping them thrive and prosper as we look to the future of work.”

Alison Muckersie, Programme Director for Data-Driven Innovation Skills Gateway at the University of Edinburgh, also commented, saying: “We are delighted to be extending our successful programme to work alongside the Tay Cities team. By sharing the learnings across city region deal partnerships, we ensure the efficient and effective use of resources and help accelerate the implementation of successful programmes tested at a regional level but with the potential for national impact.”

Training providers interested in applying can do so here. Applications close at 5pm on Friday 28 April, and funding decisions are set to be made by 12 May.