100% of industries are increasing their AI usage. While top-performing organisations are moving away from individual AI use cases, towards data and AI-powered business strategies that create differentiation. Huge change is here – and if you want to keep your career one step ahead, keep reading, because the Data and AI Practitioner Pathway is for you.
Within the next three years, over half (57%) of IT and business executives predict AI will “substantially transform" their company. While three-quarters (72%) of Fortune 500 CHROs say AI will begin replacing roles in their organisations.
Fail to keep pace with technological change, and your role will quickly become obsolete. Already, employees are reporting they lack confidence in the skills needed to succeed in their roles. As a result, they feel like they’re being held back from reaching their full potential, or fear for their job security.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Upskill With a Data and AI Apprenticeship
At Cambridge Spark, we set the gold standard because we’re always first to market with programmes that develop new data and AI skills.
Apprenticeships are an effective way to acquire digital skills, because each programme blends lectures with practical workshops, self-paced e-learning, and off-the-job training, so you complete the course with both in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience. Also, our programmes are designed and delivered by expert lecturers and tutors from top universities and leading data-driven organisations, so you know you’re getting the best education.
At all times, you are supported by technical mentors and professionally trained coaches, who help you link your new skills back to real-world scenarios. And you’ll be invited to join our community of 4,000+ learners and alumni to enjoy important networking opportunities.
Because of this, our learners have achieved outstanding results – 99.5% pass rate with 70%+ distinction/merit grades, compared to an industry average of just 33%. And 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.
How Your New Skills Translate Into a Long and Valuable Career
If you want to ensure you have opportunities galore over the coming years, data and AI skills are the way to go. Jobs requiring AI skills are growing 3.5x faster than all jobs. Demand for professionals with specialist data skills, like data scientists and data engineers, has surged 231% over the past five years.
With new data and AI skills to your name, you’re instantly more marketable. Nearly three-quarters of leaders would choose you over a candidate with more conventional experience.
Your in-demand skills are also going to allow you to command a higher salary, because AI skills come with a 56% wage premium when compared to workers in the same job without AI skills.
According to the World Economic Forum, 1 in 10 professionals today has a job title that didn’t exist in 2000. When the focus is on your skill set, rather than training for a specific role, it means you also futureproof your career. 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. Many of these skills are transferable for the next stage in your career. For example, data analysis and visualisation, leadership skills that support transformation, and communication across different stakeholders.
Embark on The Data and AI Practitioner Pathway
The Data and AI Practitioner Pathway provides a well-defined route to develop and hone your skills. And don’t worry if it all feels a bit out of your reach right now. Many of our successful learners started their journey in non-technical roles, such as executive assistants, marketing managers, and HR specialists. The thing they all have in common is using spreadsheets to manage and report on data. So if you find yourself opening Excel every day, you’re exactly where they started.
If you choose to embark on the Data and AI Practitioner Pathway, each programme builds on your previous knowledge, so you learn at a pace that’s right for you and aligns to your current role in the organisation.
Data Citizen (L3): master the essential mindset, tools and skills to thrive in a data-driven organisation and learn fundamental techniques used in data analysis and visualisation.
Data Analyst (L4): break free from the limitations of spreadsheets to leverage the analytics power of Python, SQL, and machine learning (ML) to apply data analytics in the workplace.
Data Engineer (L5): advance your career to understand the data engineering lifecycle and data modelling, to create and maintain data analytics pipelines to deliver valuable insights.
AI Engineer (L6): learn to operationalise machine learning, build and deploy production-ready AI systems.
AI & Data Science (L7): build and productionise predictive models by leveraging ML and data science tools and techniques to deliver transformational data science projects.
See if the Data and AI Practitioner Pathway is For You
In our webinar, ‘From Analyst to Engineer - Building Technical Data Careers’, we take you through the Practitioner Pathway in more detail to look at each programme and how it supports your career progression.
Alternatively, our team is always on hand and happy to answer any questions you may have about the Data and AI Practitioner Pathway, or any of our apprenticeship programmes. Simply get in touch, and say hello!