Maritime and Coastguard Agency partners with Multiverse in skills drive

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has partnered with a tech start-up to deliver data skills training to at least seven per cent of the workforce in the next three years.

Multiverse is working alongside the MCA to launch data apprenticeships in a drive to boost the skills of teams and make better use of data.

So far, 42 apprentices have been enrolled on data apprenticeships within the maritime industry, with plans to expand the programme in the future.

Various teams across the MCA, and across the UK, will be able to access data training


A drive to upskill staff is supported by MCA employees. Research by the UK Government* found that almost a quarter of employees use data skills in their work, yet a shortage of these skills among staff is estimated to cost UK businesses as much as £2bn a year.

Charis Doidge, Head of Data Science and Analytics at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said: “We’re committed to building data capability within the MCA and are excited to be offering a range of apprenticeships to our people.

“There is a growing understanding in government of just how much data analysis can add to an organisation – in all aspects of the business. Apprenticeships are enabling us to offer our colleagues new skills and knowledge, build our in-house capabilities, drive efficiency and, ultimately, make use of data going forward.”

Peppa Wise, VP of GTM at Multiverse, said: “The Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s vital work can be enhanced by the smart application of data – and that requires the skills to interpret and handle it.

“Applied learning is simply the best way to develop the competencies in the use of data. These skills will not only create value for the Agency, but they’ll also progress individuals’ careers as they develop some of the most in-demand skills.”

Multiverse apprentices at the MCA will be given one-to-one coaching with an industry expert and will be supported by events, socials, mentoring and leadership programmes designed to exceed the best of the university experience.



*Estimates from a DCMS-commissioned module of the February 2020 ONS ‘Opinions and Lifestyle’ survey found that nearly half (48%) of the working population use ‘basic’ data skills at work, while just under a quarter (24%) use more advanced skills, such as data analysis and making graphs, in their current job.


Popular posts from this blog

Label your kit at the coast

Image
Kayaks. Canoes. Paddleboards. What do they all have in common? They’re quite often found on the coastline or drifting out to sea. And if we don’t know who they belong to, we can spend time searching for an owner when they’re home safe and sound. So please help us to help you. Label your kit so that if you do get separated from it, and it turns up somewhere, we can get hold of you. In recent weeks, our Coastguard Rescue Teams have found numerous items such as kayaks and canoes drifting out at sea or abandoned near the shoreline. Unfortunately, some of the items we have found have not had their owners’ contact details written on them nor been reported as missing to the Coastguard. As a result, it makes it difficult for us to find out who it belongs to and also means we can never be completely sure if someone is safe or in the worst case, in trouble at sea. This can place a huge strain on our resources especially during the busy summer period when we have to call upon our Coastgua
Read more

A short history of HM Coastguard

Image
Today HM Coastguard is a world leader in maritime search and rescue. Looking back almost 200 years, the goods, which now travel by road, were carried by hundreds of small ships. Year in year out dozens of ships and hundreds of lives were lost within sight of the coast. Public shock and dismay at the tragedies drove forward the creation of national life saving organisations. Though it’s beginnings lie in those decades HM Coastguard originated not to meet the dangers of the seas but to combat a threat to the country’s economy and security – smuggling. As soon as medieval taxes were charged on imports and exports, people began smuggling. By 1743 th e estimate was that half the tea drunk in Britain was illegally imported and shows that smuggling was highly profitable. Smugglers have often been romanticised but the reality was brutal. Local people lived in fear, with violent reprisals on informers and the murder of revenue officers, while corruption enabled smugglers to evade harsh p
Read more

BOSCASTLE FLOODS: TEN YEARS ON

Image
Boscastle Flooding 16 th August 2004 The storms of Monday 16 August 2004 saw three weeks worth of rain fall in one day. The resulting water began to be funnelled down the valleys surrounding Boscastle and soon the steep roads became rivers. By the time that the water reached the picturesque village, it had picked up enough momentum to become a raging torrent, sweeping into buildings, washing cars away and felling huge trees. Graham King runs the Witches Museum in Boscastle and was also the station officer for the Boscastle Coastguard Rescue Team at the time of the floods: “ My museum is situated next to the harbour near the river ,” says Graham “ and I can see the coastguard equipment store from there. Initially I was concerned that the vehicle and equipment were going to become stranded but I soon began to realise how quickly the situation was deteriorating and called Falmouth Coastguard ” From that point on the villagers and tourists stranded in flood waters were he
Read more