Far from what LinkedIn would have you believe, with its endless posts of headshots transformed into Studio Ghibli-style art, Simpsons characters, or packaged dolls, AI is not a passing trend. By 2030, AI has the potential to contribute $15.7tr to the global economy – an impact so great, it’s on a par with the industrial revolution, because it will change the way businesses operate forever. Over half (57%) of IT and business executives predict AI will "substantially transform" their company within the next three years, while two-thirds believe AI will transform their entire industry within five.
Today, almost all companies invest in AI, yet only 1% believe they have reached maturity. Up in the C-suite, nearly half (47%) of executives believe their problems stem from developing GenAI tools too slowly. While business leaders believe the struggle lies in AI technology adoption. In both cases, the cause is employees who aren’t AI-ready due to a lack of training.
It’s a challenge that’s worth too much to ignore. Research from the Boston Consulting Group indicates AI leaders achieve 1.5x higher revenue growth, 1.6x greater shareholder returns, and 1.4x higher returns on invested capital, as well as excel in non-financial areas, like patents filed and employee satisfaction.
Gain Valuable AI Skills With an Apprenticeship
Half of AI vacancies will be left unfulfilled this year due to a lack of talent. It’s why many employers are seeking to upskill their teams through alternative means, such as apprenticeships. The good news for you is that, as well as acquiring sought-after AI skills, skills learned via these programmes command a higher salary than skills gained through university degrees.
At Cambridge Spark, we set the gold standard because we’re the UK’s only specialist AI apprenticeship provider. Our programmes are designed and delivered by expert lecturers and tutors from top universities and leading data-driven organisations. They also include off-the-job training, as well as access to our online learning platform, EDUKATE.AI. From day one, you can start putting the academic theory into practice, testing what does/doesn't work, and exploring how ideas may need to be adapted for certain situations, sectors, or outcomes.
The practicality of an apprenticeship means that you get hands-on with the subject matter and embrace continuous learning to ensure your skills remain fresh and future-proofed. Also, at a time when only 1% of AI-related vacancies require specific, complex skills, an apprenticeship can help broaden your knowledge within your current role, as well as provide transferable skills for the next stage in your career.
In this article, we want to shine a spotlight on the AI Transformation Specialist Apprenticeship (L4) - which prepares you to introduce AI transformation projects and use business modelling tools - to help you see the practical use cases for what we teach during the programme, and why it benefits your career long-term.
Transform Business Analysis
During the AI Transformation Specialist Apprenticeship (L4), you will examine the crucial role business analysts play in driving AI adoption. As well as develop future state operating models with AI enhancements.
AI has changed the game, presenting new opportunities to help companies innovate, stand out, and lead their market. With the right skills, you can enable your business to transform and keep pace with change, while remaining true to its overall vision and mission. As Fiona James at the Office for National Statistics said, “We've not gone off and created an AI strategy...We see AI as fundamental to the data strategy. We need to have business owners who effectively are owning the transformation using the AI.”
Engage and Communicate with Stakeholders
Our programme encourages you to explore effective communication and stakeholder engagement techniques to support business analysis. By diving into the principles of how to engage both internal and external stakeholders, you will learn how to identify and analyse their interests and influences, which helps your business to build lasting, positive relationships.
Knowing how to craft effective communication strategies is a critical success factor during AI transformation, because it fosters collaboration to reduce stakeholder/end user resistance. Additionally, it helps to build trust and accountability, which leads to better outcomes. And it allows your team to manage expectations and maintain project momentum.
Extract Business Value from Data and AI
While studying with Cambridge Spark, you will have the opportunity to explore the important role data plays in AI-driven business improvement, covering topics from data valuation and elicitation to model development and decision-making.
As Cassandra Vukorep, CDO at Lloyd’s, shared on our ‘Data & AI Mastery’ podcast, collecting or analysing data without a clear goal won’t get you anywhere - the real value comes when data is directly tied to business goals. She commented, “There's no such thing as a data project. They're all business projects. Because if it doesn't derive business value, there's no point in doing it.”
Optimise AI Implementations
Our programme takes a deep dive into the fundamentals of process modelling and its significance in understanding and improving organisational business processes, with a particular focus on incorporating AI tools. You will be exposed to different techniques for eliciting process information from stakeholders. As well as modelling business processes and redesigning them to enhance efficiency.
A key outcome we advocate for at Cambridge Spark is the democratisation of data & AI, because in today’s business environment, everyone needs these skills, not just data scientists or AI engineers. Ranil Boteju, CDAO at Lloyds Banking Group, feels the same. He believes that to maximise the potential of AI, organisations must design systems that can scale effortlessly across various teams and departments, because it allows users to create data products that support the organisation’s evolving needs.
Managing Business Change
You will have the opportunity to explore the role a business analyst plays in facilitating business acceptance of changes, particularly in the context of AI implementation. Also, to learn quality assurance techniques and the importance of business change impact assessments, including the evaluation of impacts on people, processes, organisation, technology, and information.
However, while technical knowledge is essential, Peter Laflin, Director of Data and Analytics at Morrisons, advises professionals to 'stay curious’. In his words, “The mathematical side helps, and physicists, engineers, they all have similar training, similar thought processes, but it's curiosity I think that's the most important trait.” This means experimenting with different AI tools and techniques, trying out new approaches, and developing innovative ways to stay competitive.
Upskill With Cambridge Spark
With the AI Transformation Specialist Apprenticeship (L4) under your belt, you remain ahead of technological change and perfectly position yourself for AI roles, which are growing 3.5x times faster than all jobs and command a 25% wage premium.
Whether your career trajectory is to climb the corporate ladder, become a specialist in your field, or simply pursue roles that bring your joy while making a difference to your employer, an apprenticeship is the gateway to your prosperous future.
Master the skills to leverage AI responsibly, drive accelerated business outcomes, and futureproof your skills in the AI era with the AI Transformation Specialist Apprenticeship (L4).