Flipside
Flipside was developed in response to the Apprenticeship Levy that was introduced in April 2017. The project’s main focus was to identify key skills gaps amongst digital SME’s in and around East London and better understand their appetite for apprenticeships under the new scheme.
Challenge
The creative sector has been struggling to find new talent with the right skills to meet its recruitment needs. How could we leverage our brand and in-house expertise to train up local talent who find it difficult to break into the industry without the necessary skills or connections?
What is it?
We wanted to establish the level of awareness and understanding of the Apprenticeship Levy amongst SME’s and also understand how young people perceived apprenticeships and the barriers that stood in the way of them taking these up.
Who is it for?
An important task for us was to identify whether there was a link between what SME’s identified as skills gaps and the current provision that was being delivered by training providers. Our ultimate goal was to develop recommendations as to how we could work with SME’s and key stakeholders to develop the skills needed for the creative digital industry.
Why is it needed?
When the UK voted to leave the EU, everyone was spooked. One of the implications was, and still is, that fewer people will be able to come to the UK to work than they did before – whether from Europe or from other parts of the world. Brexit was one of the reasons ustwo came together with partner agencies to develop Flipside – a training scheme to train young people in creative digital skills. We are joining forces to train the next generation of UX, product and digital designers with a bottom-up scheme devised by us – a group of leading digital design agencies hungry for new talent.
How does it help?
Flipside is an industry-led bootcamp in digital product design for young East Londoners. The programme is designed by Create Jobs at A New Direction alongside a number of leading digital agencies. Flipsiders in the programme tour various agencies throughout the curriculum, learning the skills, behaviours and mindset needed to succeed in the industry whilst being exposed to real working environments. At the end of the 12-week programme, each Flipsider joins one of the partner agencies — ustwo, Made by Many, Beyond, Farfetch — for a three month internship. Both the bootcamp and internship are paid, meaning Flipsiders can fully dedicate themselves to developing their skills and making the most of the programme.