First students in Scotland graduate from Data Science PDA

Nine learners have become the first in Scotland to graduate from the Professional Development Award (PDA) in Data Science. Funding from the Data Skills Credit scheme run by Data Skills for Work allowed learners to undertake the course for free.

Over 18 weeks learners completed courses at SCQF level 8, learning about working with data, communicating with data and undertaking a data science project in collaboration with industry. The course was taught by highly skilled instructors at Code Division, a social enterprise committed to delivering courses which will empower communities to drive change from the ground up. They provide courses for school pupils, to prepare young people for work and provide skills pathways into a wide variety of digital roles, as well as providing courses to industry.

The course is a great step towards a data science career, Bageshri shares how the PDA empowered her to rethink pursuing a career in data science after a career break. “I had been out of the data science field for 15 years, so of course my knowledge was outdated. But doing this course makes you feel more confident and that is the most important thing because it re-ignites your interest, and you start to get that buzz back” she explains. “I previously never thought that data science could be a career option for me. But now I think – yes I can do this!”

Jay demonstrated how the skills could be applicable to a range of careers: “My interest is specifically in the context of data journalism and content production. I am confident that, as a result of completing the course, given a large data set I will now be able to clean and interrogate it (using tools in Python or Excel) to discover, write up and present interesting stories that might otherwise be missed.”

Neha highlighted the importance of the classroom environment for learning these new skills: “I tried few Python courses on LinkedIn before but I did not feel the excitement to continue them. This course provided classroom like structure, peers to talk to, platform to ask for help, get feedback from experts.”

As well as developing Data Science skills students also developed other valuable skills. Ester said “During the PDA, I was the project manager of my team for the project “Women in Tech” and I was able to use my project management skills. All together this gave me the necessary confidence and experience to pursue a career in data analysis.”

The group completed 2 group projects, one looked at the massive digital and data skills gap in Scotland and the issue with women being under represented in tech. The project looked at the traditional routes into tech; schools, colleges and universities and whether there are issues or obstacles to girls/women accessing these courses.

The second group completed an Eco-Equality project was built on the hypothesis that the effective promotion of cycling as a viable means of transport could reduce a city’s fossil fuel emissions by 2030, a target set by many cities in the face of the current climate emergency.  Widely available data on transport was interrogated then narrowed the scope to the project group’s own city, Edinburgh, to see whether it supported the hypothesis.

The Data skills Credit programme provides adults from Edinburgh and South East Scotland who are unemployed, underemployed or earning below £24,000 yearly. The eligible learners are granted £500 which can be used towards the cost of a wide range of data courses, listed on the Data Skills for Work’s Skills Portal. 

Led by The Data Lab, the Data Skills for Work programme is part of the wider DDI Data Skills Gateway at the University of Edinburgh, funded through the Edinburgh and Southeast Scotland City Region Deal. The programme aims to create a more diverse workforce in the region by helping adults to upskill and reskill with data to progress their careers.  

Further information:

https://dataskillsforwork.com/

http://codedivision.co.uk/index.php/data-skills-for-work-courses/

https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/95297.html