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Belfast Met & Deloitte

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The College

Activate Learning

Belfast Met is a further and higher Education College in Northern Ireland. They provide training to address a variety of skill needs – from apprenticeship and Level 1 courses, to post-graduate study.

Their focus for the future is to support the development of Belfast by providing education, training and skills development to enhance individual, community and economic prosperity.

The Employer

Deloitte is the brand under which tens of thousands of dedicated professionals collaborate to provide audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, tax, and related services.

Only in the UK, it has 15,000 employees and they are leaders in the professional services industry. Internationally, they bring together nine countries and over 30,000 talented people.

The Partnership

Belfast Met has developed a partnership with Deloitte UK to support the development and growth of their digital data and technology centre in Belfast which is providing access to expertise on a global basis. The aim of this partnership is to create a graduate talent pipeline to support the development of higher-level skills leading to careers in the professional business services and technology sectors.

They have worked together through the Assured Skills Programme to deliver a series of graduate level digital technology academies over the last 4 years, creating 200 jobs. The Assured Skills Programme has been designed to work with unemployed or underemployed graduates across the City Region. The academies deliver a conversion programme for non-technical graduates leading them into digital technology-oriented roles.

The Benefits

The partnership has benefitted the college by allowing staff to develop high level technical skills in areas as diverse as data analytics, cybersecurity, business intelligence and software development. The college has generated close to £2 million in additional full cost recovery funding as a result of their involvement in this type of work. Belfast Met has become the primary provider of professional business services programmes in Northern Ireland to leading consulting companies including PWC and EY.

The College has also been recognised for its work and has won 6 regional and national awards for their innovative approaches to employer engagement, working closely with Deloitte UK and others to co-create innovative talent solutions.

Most importantly, it is having a great positive impact on learners and the local community. The College has recruited and trained over 200 unemployed or underemployed graduates across the region with a 93% success rate for this programme.

Deloitte UK also gained from the College as the partnership gave them more flexibility and agility to work towards co-creating new solutions. The college made them more ready to invest in new skills to keep pace with the evolving needs of the company and the sector. The college is also crucial to provide access to a whole new talent pipeline that the company needs to remain globally competitive.

What they say

Hear first hand from colleges and employers about their experiences.

We have found the College to be a dynamic and innovative partner, delivering an exceptionally high level of educational excellence, coupled with a clear understanding of the local and international business environment. As we continue to operate in a rapidly changing world and face ongoing economic and technological challenges, the ability to flex our skills profile in response will become an even more vital measure of our regional competitiveness.

Alastair Hamilton, Chief Executive InvestNI _ Regional Business Agency for FDI Programmes

The partnership with the Department for Economy and InvestNI to support business growth and talent acquisition for global FDI companies locating in Northern Ireland has created unique solutions to bring non-technical graduates into technology related roles. With the pace of change associated with automation and AI, the need for such solutions is likely to increase.

Marie-Therese McGivern, Principal and Chief Executive at Belfast Metropolitan College

What strikes me was the College’s flexibility and agility; they have worked with us closely co-designing the programme. The Academy model for graduates really challenged us to think of how we take talent into our business and do things differently. It has been a great relationship and it has changed nationally how our company takes graduates through into our business.

Jackie Henry, Partner Deloitte Northern Ireland

Want to know more?

For a collection of all the great case studies featured as part of the campaign, please check out our employer engagement prospects.

We’d also love to hear from employer about how Collab Group colleges can work with you to help fill your business needs.