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Beyond the School Run – Why Data & AI Works for Modern Working Mums · Work It Like A Mum

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm Elizabeth Willis and I'm obsessed with helping as many women as possible achieve their boldest dreams after kids and helping you to navigate this messy and magical season of life.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a working mum with over 17 years of recruitment experience, and I'm the founder of the Investing in Women Job Board and Community.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: In this show, I'm honoured to be chatting with remarkable women, redefining our working world across all areas of business.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: They'll share their secrets on how they've achieved extraordinary success after children, their boundaries and balance, the challenges they faced, and how they've overcome them to find their own version of success.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Shy away from the real talk.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: No way! Money, struggles, growth, loss, boundaries and balance.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: We cover it all.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Think of this as coffee with your mates mixed with an inspiring TED talk, sprinkled with the career advice you wish you'd really had at school.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, make sure you're cozy, and get ready to get inspired and chase your boldest dreams.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Or just survive Mondays.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: This is the Work It Like a Mum podcast.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: This episode is brought to you by Investing in Women.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Investing in Women is a job board and recruitment agency helping you find your dream part-time or flexible job with the UK's most family-friendly and forward-thinking employers.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Their site can help you find a professional and rewarding job that works for you.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: They're proud to partner with the UK's most family-friendly employers across a range of professional industries.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Ready to find your perfect job?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Search their website at investinginwomen.co.uk to find your next part-time or flexible job opportunity.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now back to the show.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to today's work it like a mum podcast.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Today I am chatting with Anna Burbeck.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um Anna is the director of Regions and Partnerships at Infort Group.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: I said that wrong, I said it wrong.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Lovely, yeah, and she looks after one of their um flagship programmes, Mums in Data.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: So we're going to be talking today about the programme, what it involves, um, why Anna is so passionate about it and how to get involved.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much, Anna, for joining us today.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, you're very welcome.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, it's a great opportunity just to get the word out there, really, and and just talk to a fellow mum, as well.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: So what you know, what drew you, I guess, to data in this pro why are you so passionate about this program?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, lots of reasons.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I am a working mum.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I have um experienced many challenges, as I know a lot of working mums, a lot of working parents in general, but predominantly working mums because of the all the extra mental load and everything else that goes with being a mum.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I know the challenges that present themselves when you're looking to try and balance your career with your family life.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so the whole point of mums and data really is looking at that whole talent pool and then how we can make that work for the benefit of them but also employers.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and data is a really key really key skill at the moment.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: If you've got data skills, then they are very much in demand.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: There is a high need, there is a huge skills gap, particularly in female representation of data roles.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: So, what we're looking to do is try and bridge that skills gap and support employers in talent that matches the skills that they need, but also supporting people that have had children, that are looking to get back into the workplace, that maybe are facing some barriers.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean, one of the key things when you're coming back to work as a career break mum is how am I gonna how am I gonna cope?
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: How am I gonna work all those hours and then still do all of this, child have all this childcare responsibility?
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: So it's what we found is that a lot of data roles tend to be more flexible.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: They tend to, there's lots of organisations that um have remote roles in in data as well.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: So it tends to be more family friendly and it tends to be one of those jobs that you can fit around the school pickup, school drop-off, you know, having to go in and maybe go to see your child in nativity or sports day.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: So it tends to have that level of flexibility that is um is needed really, I think, when you're a working parent.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, why is that do you think why is it more flexible than other careers?
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's because I mean, I think we are going heading in that direction, right?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, I think a lot of employers now are included, uh increasing uh flexibility.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: But the thing with data and AI is it can all be done remotely.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's not it's often not client-faced thing, so you're not often having to be on the road going to visit people, it's often something that you need to just kind of focus, get your head down.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that can be done from from home, that can be done remotely.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's why it's a really good shower.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of the organizations, if we look at public sector, there's a huge need and demand for data roles in public sector, and again, they lend themselves to more flexible working.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it does seem like a really good fit.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I think the other thing to note really is that currently there's I think it's less than one in four women are in data roles, so there's a huge underrepresentation, and actually, women have those key skills that are often missing from data analysis, which are those softer skills, you know, all of that critical thinking, all of that problem solving that you do day to day with your your children and your family, and all those skills that you learn being a parent, yeah, and the communication skills, you're already halfway there, you just need to learn how to work with the data.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: But um, it's it's a really good fit, a really good fit, and I think we're finding that um employers are really keen to tap into this talent pool.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, what as long as it's into this they're probably thinking, what would I do as a what a data manager, data analyst?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: What what do you do?
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: What's the a job look like in that field?
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, data manager, data analyst.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think we've what we've done it in for is we've gone one step further.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: So initially, when we first launched the programme, we were working closely with employers.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: We this is an employment programme, it's not an employability program.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: We work with the women to secure them employment and to make sure that they go into a role.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: And and what we were doing with our first cohort is we were working closely with um a housing association to give them that hands-on work experience as well.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: So they did a placement um and a project with a housing association, so they had that experience of real life, like a real life use case um example that they can then take to other employers and say, Well, I worked on this project for um, you know, this housing association.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: So it's giving them that hands-on, real life experience for one.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then what we've done is we've evolved that now and we've mapped it across to apprenticeships.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: So there are various apprenticeship routes that you can also take.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: I think what we were hearing from some of the women is that you know it's a it's a fantastic programme, they get all this experience, but they were feeling that maybe they still don't feel quite like an expert, and they were a little bit uh there's a little bit of trepidation about applying for some of these data analyst roles and all of that that goes with it.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas if we go down the route of putting them into an apprenticeship role, they still feel like they're still learning, but they're still able to contribute.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: So it takes away that almost imposter syndrome that we often suffer with, um, you know, even though I'm sure that they are very capable and able to do those jobs, but a lot of it is around you know how we feel in ourselves and confidence.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: So it's still building on that confidence because it takes a long time to get back into your confident self when you return to work after children, particularly some of these women have been out of work for you know five, six, seven plus years.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: It takes it you can't solve everything with a 12-week programme.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: So, what we're doing is now making sure that they go into apprenticeship roles.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: So there's like an AI champion um and and various other apprenticeship roles that fit um and that the women can move into, yeah.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that they're not feeling like they have to suddenly be an expert after 12 weeks and they still have the opportunity to grow and to learn in their role.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um so that's yeah, sorry, I think.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: So what do they do?
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: No, I'm just interested, you know, if someone's listening to this and think, oh, it sounds really good, but what what does a data person do?
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: What's the job like tend to look like?
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: So it's looking at, I mean, it can be absolutely anything.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, you've got you've got your housing associations, they have all kinds of data on their residents that they need to, you know, um analyse, that you've got your NHS, um that they have all the client data and the patient data and records that need tidying up and keeping on top of they need to look at trends, they need to look at um if you look at all careers now, if you think about marketing, for example, we're not looking at SEO search engines anymore.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: That's you know, that's gone.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: That everyone now is is searching on Chat GPT.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: So it's making sure that you understand how data's being applied, how it's being used, and then um being able to really understand your client group or whatever it is that you're um working with.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I think everybody uses data in so many ways, it's difficult to say what does that job look like.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: It can be absolutely anything.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: So you can go into you could go into a law, you could literally go into any company, and every company uses data.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's just how you um what where your interests lie, I guess, as to you know, you might find yourself in a marketing role, you might find yourself working with client confidential information, you might find yourself working for an insurance company.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's just so many opportunities, and I think that's again why this is a really great um opportunity for the women because there is such a great and broad spectrum of things.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think you know, now we're finding that you need AI, right?
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: So everybody uses AI in their role, and if they don't, they are going to need to soon.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I think again, this is applying AI with data, so looking at how to use the AI tools to manipulate the data so that you then become the intelligence rather than the analyst, so to speak, because you know the AI will take over and do the analytics, but we need you to apply human intelligence to that and be asking the right questions, making sure that AI is doing what you need it to do, um, rather than it being like you know, it it doesn't just come and do it for you, you need to apply it well.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it's learning how to do all of that as well.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have an AI module then?
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: There is AI is weaved throughout everything, yeah.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, AI is weave through it.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we've got various, um, like I say, we've got apprenticeship um programmes that it maps across to, so there is that opportunity for the women to come out of the program and then into something else where they continue on their learning trajectory.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and again, they can go right up to being an AI modern leader, which is I think level, I think it goes right up to level six eventually.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: So there's plenty of growth opportunities um for for women, and I think it's something that they can do that isn't going to be too challenging around their family life, and I think that's the key thing really, it's trying to keep that balance.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: But I think also for employers, I mean, when we look at the things that um employers are are looking for, um I think you know, we've got I'm just I'm just thinking about some so we've got this whole un talent pool.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that that I said before, didn't I?
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: They have the soft and the transferable skills that sometimes are missing in some of the um workplace.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's nice to have for them to have that that balance as well in the workplace.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, um, so we're finding that employees are really receptive to it um because of that.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, I don't think because it's quite techy.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: Do you feel that you need a good understanding of tech and maths?
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: There's a background in that help.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um no, no, not at all.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because data isn't techie and it isn't particularly the so you've got programs that do all that for you.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: You don't need to be techie, it's more about critical thinking, it's more about understanding, like I said to you, it's the intelligence behind it, but it's not necessarily the math intelligence, it's how you interpret the data, it's asking the right questions, it's looking at trends, and then you know, trying to think, well, why is that a trend?
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: Why and it's that applying that thinking to the data, so it's actually not massively about maths and tech at all.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, although obviously that does come into it, but you have all kinds of, you know, you we on the program we teach Power BI and various other tools that will support in analysing and manipulating that data.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's just that the human element that we need the person to learn.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: So it's about more about understanding and interpreting the data that rather than actually doing the numbers yourself.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: So is there a particular skill set you think that someone would need to do well in this program and in this career?
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Is it you know curious?
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: I guess like, yeah.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think so.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think it is it is that crit is what I said, it's critical thinking, it's it's asking questions, it's seeing trends, seeing patterns, and thinking, why is that?
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: And what do I need to flag up here?
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: What do I need to understand?
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: What is this data telling me?
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's implied, so it's that applied and thinking and a critical and critical thinking.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think that's why we feel it's a really good fit for particularly for mums, because they do that all the time anyway, naturally, with with children.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's something that you do every day, you probably don't even realize that you do it, but you do.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it it's that, and I think you know, we what we do say to to people is that you know, whilst it's generally pitched at a level three stroke four, the programme.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: So what's level three stroke four?
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'll be honest, I don't know what that means.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: Oh so level three is um, so if you're a level three, it's like a level.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's just that you possibly could struggle um with the level of IT um knowledge that's required if you haven't got that level of education already.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: However, if you, for example, have come straight out of school and then you went to work in an office and you were working for years, but you never quite continued your education, that you you'd still be absolutely fine on the programme.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not as black and white as that.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: But we say, generally speaking, we would say that you would need to be educated up to around A-level standard and be able to work at that level to not struggle with the program.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then, like I say, it can you can continue on that journey.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: So after 12 weeks, you can go on to an apprenticeship.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, but you get paid for that.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: So the apprenticeship roles, yes, you do get paid for it.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the program itself is is fully funded.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: We work with various local and combined authorities.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, at the moment, the GLA Greater London Authority have commissioned us to um run three cohorts.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: So we're currently recruiting in London, Greater London region, for um three cohorts of 20.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: So we're looking to onboard 60 women on the programme, which will start in December.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that will run right through to March.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, during which time the women will work, obviously they'll learn all the new skills, but they'll also um partake in an industry project, and then they will have um some options of what to do, you know, what to do next.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: So whether they choose to go down the apprenticeship route or whether they decide that they actually just want to go straight ahead and apply for a job, then that's fine.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: They will get support from us in that pathway um in achieving their goals.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we are quite clear to women when they're joining the program, you're not just here to learn new skills, you are here to apply, then apply those skills and to um you know follow through to employment.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: It is an employment programme, and that's the goal really to get people into new careers.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: So that 12 weeks, so it's 12 weeks, yes, and then there's 20 people per cohort.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: How often do they meet per week?
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it's three times a week.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: So we um the days vary depending which um which cohort and which location, but generally we try to do either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: We try to avoid a Friday.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um and we tend to do them in friendly, school-friendly hours.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, the programs generally start at 9:30, so 1.30, something like that.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: We they're hybrid, so there's a mix of in-person.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: We felt that it's really important to um when bringing people back into a learning environment, that you have that bond and that um, you know, the opportunity to really kind of have that peer-to-peer networking and mentorship as well, not just learning from the uh instructor, but you know, really supporting each other and growing your your network.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: So um, so we do depending on um the region that we're in and and how it all works, we do one to two in-person sessions a week, and then everything else is online.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and there's some element of self-learning as well, but the um but we have like three sessions that are taught by the instructor a week.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: And then sort of homework, if you like.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then homework, yeah, yeah.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then so how how many hours do you think that is for people?
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: So the total number of hours is um, I think it's 120 guided learning hours, but then across three months.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: Across three months, yes, but then there'll be additional extra learning and reading and things that they um are asked to do on top of that.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, at the end as well, again, it depends how the women are feeling.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: We didn't want to push everyone down an exam route, um, because you'll have people at different stages and different levels of confidence, but we do give them the option to take an exam if they feel ready and if they feel confident enough, um, they can take an exam in in um, and I think the current exam that we have is a data protection BCS data protection exam um that they can take, and that can just give them a bit more confidence if they're if they're a qualification, then I guess exactly.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Do you help then with CVs and interview like to get them to jump?
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: So all of our programs, you know, mind is no exception.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we we provide that wraparound support in terms of employment, support, careers, so CVs, um, career advice.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: We bring in guest speakers, um, you know, inspirational women that have been through the same struggles and you know like, right, I've done it, you can do it.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: And um just to keep them motivated, keep them in feeling inspired as well, because um, again, a lot of it, and I would say probably like 70 to 80 percent of is confidence in anything, really.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: So I we really work to build confidence, that's you know, the key thing, as well as the the actual practical skills.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's part of it.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: And CV, we have um an employment support team that will work around careers and CVs and helping the women prepare for you know, do mock interviews, that kind of thing, ready for that.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and as part of the the programme, we are committed to, like I say, supporting them in employment.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: So we are not just going to get to the end of the 12 weeks and it's like, oh well done, you've completed your programme, off you go.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: That that's not what we do.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: We we try and secure them interviews so that they're it's lined up ready for when they finish the program.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um we you know talk to them throughout the program about what type of role they might be interested in or what type of um employment company they might want to work for, what sector that's the word I was looking for.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, you know, and we we work with them to secure something that is going to be a good fit for them.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: So is it just London you have planned, or do you have any other cohorts?
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we have at the moment we have Liverpool's already running at the minute, but we do have plans to continue the program in Liverpool.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, yes, we do have plans to have another cohort.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: We are looking to roll this out further and wider.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Infor Group has presence across all of Lancashire, uh, Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, um, in fact, all of the Northwest, West Midlands, and London.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: So we have various programs running in those regions anyway.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: So, in mind, is in a programme that we are looking to expand in those regions.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: So, at the moment, we we have, like I said, we've got a programme in Lancashire, we've got one in Liverpool, and then um London, but we are looking to expand that.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: So, expanding current areas but also into Greater Manchester, um, you know, further into Lancashire and uh the West Midlands as well.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, we do have plans to roll this out.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's um yeah no, I was gonna say so.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: If someone's listening to this and is interested, maybe they don't live in one of those areas, or maybe they do, but how would they register their interest then and maybe get on a waiting list or an email list or whatever?
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: So they can go on our website and there is um which is info.co.uk, um for and then they can go search for mum's in data, the power of mind, um, which is mind standing for mum's in data, obviously, um, and they can register their interest on the website.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then what we can, I mean, it's great, you know, we love demand because demand gives us that even that imperative to then seek funding in that region.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: So if we know that there is a huge demand in Rose Manchester, for example, then we're like, right, we are going to focus on guessing some funding in this region because we know that there is a huge demand, and it's the same with employers, you know.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: If employers are looking, uh, have those skills gaps and they're thinking, oh, this is a really great program that I could tap into.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, I think one of the things that employers are um, particularly SMEs at the moment, are struggling because of all the tax increases and everything, and the national insurance and and everything.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that staffing can sometimes recruitment can be something that then gets put on a kind of on hold, but the the thing with you know, apprenticeships make it a really affordable and affordable way to get that um talent in, and it's not costing too much money.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: So, again, for employers, if we understand that there's a demand and a need, um, you know, we can then look to secure funding in that region.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: So, um, yeah, I think for both really, it's about understanding where is the demand and right, okay, let's go in and try and cut get some funding.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: But regardless, we are skills bootcamp providers, we've been skills bootcamp providers for many years, and that's not going to change, so we will still be securing funding to deliver these programs that of which MIND is one of them.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think I I didn't I had a mental block on what the apprenticeships were.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: So it's an AI business analyst, which is a level four, and it then it's also an AI modern leader.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: So there's two apprenticeship routes that they can go down on the back of the MIDE program.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um be really in demand, won't they?
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: That feels quite a safe area to go in, quite future-proof.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you if you you know want a long-term career, then AI is something probably worth going into.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think we all use it every day, you know.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: We might pretend that we don't use Chat GPT to write our um social media posts, but I'm sure we all do and how many.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, the people that know how to really work it are obviously going to be so much in demand.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Anna, for joining us.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, how so we've got we'll put the mums in data details on um in the show notes and also info group.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: Can people contact you as well on LinkedIn if they've got any questions?
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, yes.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I really encourage that actually.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's great to just talk and have those conversations and understand, you know, what and we'll talk to women and understand what their their needs are, what their challenges are.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: That's how we came to this.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, in fact, if I do have a minute just to give that background, it might be quite useful because we we uh as a skills boot camp provider, we have delivered data and AI and various programs for for many years.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: And we what we saw was that particularly during COVID, there were a lot of females coming through that were like return to work mums, and we were like, oh, okay, there seems to be a trend here.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's that it's that applying that in intelligence to the data that I was saying.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: So we were like, oh, look, wait a minute, there's a bit of a pattern here.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: Let's let's get on the phone to some of these mums and understand what it was that drew them to this programs.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it was that it was that flexibility, it was being able to work more remotely, it was um it was all of those things, so having those in-demand skills so that they felt that job security, um, you know, so it was all of those things, and so we thought, right, okay, then let's be very niche about this.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: We know there's a need from the mums that we've spoken to, let's create a program specifically for mums.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: At the same time, we'd had a conversation with one of the state, uh, one of our the councils that we work with in Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwin, and they were saying, Oh, we have um a high number of mums that are struggling to get back into the workplace, and you know, part of that is is all these barriers, you know, the rising cost of childcare, the you know, inflexibility.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh some of these women have maybe worked in retail or you know, hospitality, and the the hours are not that friendly, or even nursing.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um I know a lot of nurses that left nursing, yeah.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I worked with um someone, my my colleague Ilham, she is amazing, and she came through one of these programs, and um and she was the same.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: She was like, I was a trained midwife.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: She said, but I couldn't do those hours around my children, I had no one to go past to them.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so I came into onto a boot camp, and um, and now she can fit it around the night, the school runs and everything, and it's perfect for her.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so so that's where it came from.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: It came from analysing the data, understanding the patterns and the trends, talking to the uh local councils, talking to employers as well.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: What skills do you need?
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: Where are your skills gaps?
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: What shortages have you got?
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: Where do you see in five years the skills that you're gonna gaps are gonna be?
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: Where you know, it's it's it's just that and that's all the data is, it's looking at the information and brilliant.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think lots of things, but hopefully it's yeah, I I think we got it.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like looking, I loved it, looking at the uh the data that was presented and making sense of that data.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: Brilliant, lovely.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much Anna for joining us today.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: We'll put all the links in the show notes and we'll also put the info group as well.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because I'm sure you run other skills um anyway.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'm happy to touch in more detail um around some of the types of roles.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: I know I was essentially a little bit vague on that um question, but I can do a bit of a deeper dive for anybody that is interested and wants to discuss more, we can definitely look at that with them.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: Oh well, perfect.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much, Anna, for joining me today, and thank you so much to everyone that has listened this week.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: You're very welcome.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to another episode of the Work It Like a Mum podcast.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: And don't forget to share the link with a friend.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you're on LinkedIn, please send me a connection request at Elizabeth Willet and let me know your thoughts on this week's episode.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: You can also follow my recruitment site, Investing in Women, on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep on chasing your big stream.