Dodds announces another 20 high quality training places on PwC Assured Skills Academy

Economy Minister Diane Dodds today announced a new PwC Assured Skills Academy offering 20 high quality training places to people with degrees.

Economy Minister Diane Dodds

Focussing on Future Business Skills, the Assured Skills Academy will see participants receive industry-relevant pre-employment training at Belfast Met.

Participants who complete the training will gain industry-recognised qualifications and are guaranteed a job interview for a role at PwC in Belfast.

Highlighting the opportunity, the Minister said:

“I am pleased to announce another Assured Skills Academy with PwC and Belfast Met. This is an excellent opportunity for people with degrees seeking to start or change career in the professional services sector.

“Developing the local skills base will be a key element of the economic recovery. Assured Skills Academies have a track record of success in upskilling people and helping them secure employment, and we are working to bring through more academies in the near future.”

The Minister added:

“Successful applicants to the academy will receive £150 per week training allowance and will be strongly positioned to compete for a job upon completion. I urge anyone who is eligible and interested to apply for this exciting opportunity.”

Deborah Stevenson, Operate Director at PwC, said:

“These Academies are meeting a critical need in society to support people to retrain. The diverse training people receive during the Future Business Skills Academy is excellent preparation to help launch people with degrees onto the next part of their career journey.

“We’re excited to be part of this and to build on the success that we’ve seen people achieve through our earlier Academies. We look forward to launching more in the future as well, and I’d encourage anyone who is interested to do some research and apply.”

The Future Business Skills Academy will focus on a range of areas including Financial Crime, Compliance Testing, Customer Management, PMO Services and Business Operations.

The Academy will last 10 weeks, including a two-week break for Christmas, and be delivered primarily virtually, although applicants should be prepared to attend some classes in a Belfast Met campus.

Louise Warde Hunter, Principal and Chief Executive at Belfast Met, said:

“We are delighted to be delivering this DfE programme. It comes on the back of a series of successful academies that have been delivered remotely over the past number of months resulting in many job opportunities for the programme participants. 

“Even in these most challenging of times the commitment of PwC to offer such highly skilled roles is to be commended and we look forward to delivering this programme in partnership with them.”

Applications for the PwC Future Business Skills Assured Skills Academy are open until 9 November. No experience is required. Applicants must hold a 2:2 degree or better in any discipline.

For more information and to apply visit: nidirect assured skills website

Notes to editors: 

1. Assured Skills is a pre-employment training programme run by the Department for the Economy. More information is available at: DfE website - Assured Skills
2. Follow us on Twitter @Economy_NI  
3. For media enquiries contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk .
4. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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