Launched by the Welsh Contact Centre Forum, the programme has been designed in consultation with data scientists from Wales’ leading companies, including Admiral, GoCompare Group, Confused.com, and Centrica, as well as the University of South Wales and experts from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The programme is part-funded by a £2.3m grant from the European Social Fund and will offer graduates paid placements, a fully funded MSc and expert learning from ONS.
Speaking at the launch, Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said: “The Welsh Government is committed to retaining graduate talent in Wales, helping them to progress and gain the high-level skills and experience they need to develop successful careers and become tomorrow’s leaders."
Welsh Contact Centre Forum managing director Sandra Busby added: “The potential of Wales’ data science industry is truly limitless. It already includes some of the UK’s largest companies, multinational enterprises, and a growing number of dynamic, driven startups and SMEs.
“However, regardless of their scale or individual commercial goals, they all share a common need. If you think of how we use smartphones, social networking, loyalty cards and just browsing the web the amount of data we are all generating is enormous. Companies need to manage and analyse this data which is why the growth for talent in this sector is both outweighing demand and hugely competitive.
“Today, we’re not only launching a means for businesses to grow their talent pool, we’re providing the country’s top talent with an opportunity they can’t find anywhere else. In doing so, we aim to encourage businesses and graduates alike to recognise the opportunities that are open to them if they take the opportunity to invest in Wales.”
The move follows a Government announcement in August that it will open a new £3m centre in Wales designed to increase take-up of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.
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