SIXTEEN graduates have successfully completed the second PwC Data Analytics Academy.
The academy provides graduates with the skills and experience required to take up opportunities in PwC’s new and rapidly growing Data Analytics team.
Designed by the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), PwC and Belfast Metropolitan College (Belfast Met) under the Assured Skills initiative, the academy targets graduates from any discipline and provides them with an intensive eight-week training programme in data analytics.
The successful students will now be interviewed for available jobs within the company.
Paul Terrington, PwC Northern Ireland regional chairman, said the academy model had the potential to accelerate growth in the local technology market.
He said: “The PwC Data Analytics Academy model is providing a pipeline of new, young data analytics professionals who add significantly to our rapidly-growing technology offering.
Working with our partners in Belfast Met and DEL, we have developed an academy model that has the potential to be expanded and broadened to significantly increase the pool of data analytics professionals across Northern Ireland.”
The graduation ceremony was held at PwC’s offices in central Belfast and attended by academy trainees along with representatives from Belfast Met and PwC.
Congratulating the graduates, Marie-Thérèse McGivern, principal and chief executive of Belfast Met, said: “The academy has been a great success with our business partners PwC and amongst our learners and I wish them every success in the future.”
Speaking prior to the graduation ceremony, Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry congratulated the graduates, adding: “This model provides employers like PwC an opportunity to be involved in developing a tailored training programme, whilst allowing graduates to refine their skills to meet the needs of the employer.”