School of Automation now supports UK Government Kickstart Scheme

Press release, School of Automation, Glasgow

The School of Automation (SOA) set out with a mission to help young talent for the future of work in the Robotic Process Automation industry. As a part of this endeavour, the School of Automation now supports the UK government Kickstart Scheme. SOA helps people into employment, develop their skills & employability, and hopefully move into exciting new careers.

"Equipping young people with the skills they need to succeed is a vital part of our plan. I'm delighted that through the UK Government's Kickstart Scheme we will be creating opportunities for young people across the country to get into careers in a thriving industry" – Marc Cooper, CEO

The Kickstart Scheme helps create new jobs for 16 to 24-year-olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment. If you are

- Aged between 16-24

- On Universal credit

If you are creative and a keen problem solver or have an interest in IT, Software and new technologies and would like to start an exciting new career, please get in touch with your local Jobcentre or DWP office for full details on how to apply.

School of Automation: One Year On...

Starting up a business in the middle of a global pandemic is a challenge in itself, but that’s exactly what the team at School of Automation (SOA) did in 2020.

One year on, SOA has gone from strength to strength; not only building the business up and expanding but ensuring young apprentices are successfully starting their careers in the ever-growing and exciting world of process automation.

There is so much demand for automation solutions and SOA really is on a mission to bridge the skills gap that is holding back businesses from embarking on their digital transformation projects.

From August 2020 to now…

Last summer SOA started life with an office in Glasgow (albeit with most staff working remotely!) and the beginnings of an apprenticeship course with the first candidates about to embark on their journey in automation, all while building partnerships and relationships with customers and process automation experts including UiPath and IBM.

Fast forward to August 2021 and SOA has some amazing things to shout about:

• There’s now a team of 20 staff with offices in both Glasgow and Dublin

• Many of the apprentices worked on live customer automation projects including Costain, Autorama, Northumbrian Water, Morgan Sindall and more.

• A pilot programme in Ireland launched and now the group will transition to a Traineeship with Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board(ETB) with another planned for 2022

• In October 2021, SOA will be employing 9 Robotic Process Developers through the UK Gov Kickstart Scheme

But don’t take SOA’s word for it, here are some comments from the first group of recruits and SOA staff on this first year:

“My time at SOA has been great. This journey this was not what I expected it to be - I thought

my job would just be coding, but that was not the case at all. Working at SOA allowed me to work with different people and different projects which kind of meant every day is a new day with new things to work on, new problems to solve and new things to learn.” - Wayne Ncube

“My journey with the School of Automation has been nothing short of life changing. In the past year, I have worked with industry giants, providing automation to suit their needs and the skills I needed to produce this were all provided by the School of Automation. I've gained skills and experience with the School of Automation that will be able to serve me for the rest of my career.” - Jared Dunachie

“I have really enjoyed the apprenticeship journey so far. A big part of that is getting to not only learn about automation, but getting to work on live projects with clients. I have learned so much by just speaking to clients and finding out how to interact with them, to handle changes and adjustments requested by them etc. I don't think I could have got this opportunity anywhere else.” - Alpha Arakaza

I

was made redundant due to the pandemic and managed to secure my role at SOA as a Training & Development Manger to the first team of Apprentice RPA Developers. This was an exciting opportunity as SOA had just started. I would also be getting in at the beginning and helping them to grow and growing with them. RPA was new to me as I am not IT Savvy in coding, so I had a lot of learning to do which was provided by all the friendly Tech Leads and the apprentices. I have worked within training organisations and my own training company for many years, but this must be one of the best career opportunities I have seen both for myself and the Apprentices.” - Julie Scott

“What a difference a year makes. Being a part of a company that not only actually cares about its employees and apprentices but invests in their future is something which fills me with pride. Seeing the difference, we can make in people’s lives has really opened my eyes to so many new things. Working in this team has taught me a new set of skills and has let me use my years of experience. Our work is vital; giving people opportunity and helping them shape their own future is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve had, moving into the future, I am excited and cannot wait for the challenges that lie ahead.” - Natalie Bryce

And finally, a few words from our CEO, Marc Cooper

“We are absolutely delighted to be one year on and have a team of

20 with an office in Glasgow and Dublin. Our team have been brilliant over what has been an extremely difficult year in terms of remote working and still managing to keep positive and work effectively. We are and continue to create a healthy eco system of talent for the Process Automation industry where our developers can have exciting new careers and long-term futures.

“It’s so important to enjoy the journey, no matter how challenging things get you have to find those moments when we sit back and say that’s why we do what we do. The most significant of them all has got to be creating career opportunities for other people. When we look at the impact COVID has had on businesses and unemployment we are delighted and proud of what are doing to create careers in a growth sector. To be able to train people and give them new skills to have a career and then watch them develop is truly rewarding. We have taken some young people on a journey that I don’t believe would have been possible for them due to circumstances and given them opportunities to become fantastic developers and start to build a career for themselves. I really enjoy spending time with them in the office and seeing them grow, from when they first engaged with us to where they are now, I know we are making a difference to them and their lives.

“A huge thank you to everyone involved in getting SOA to where it is today, there have been many people involved at various points of the journey and I thank you for your contributions. It is invaluable to surround yourself with good people and those who believe in our vision. We look forward to continuing working with you and are excited about the year ahead.”

In Conversation with a SOA Apprentice

It’s always great to hear how our apprentices are getting along, and this week we sat down with Fraser, 17, from Glasgow, who started his 18-month apprenticeship with School of Automation (SOA) in August 2020, to chat about all things robotic and why he chose to embark on this path…

Firstly, what sparked your interest in robotics?

I first started taking an interest when I was about 14/15 yrs old and the more I looked into it the more interesting it seemed. I ended up working on a project with a couple of my friends to make a robotic car to go under the floor of a laser company to scope about for any issues. It was great to have an opportunity to have a brief, work with a team and come up with the solution to put into practice.

Right now, outside of work I have a robotic jellyfish in the works – I am just trying to work out how best to put it into action. I want it to be able to swim, and be controlled by your phone. I get inspiration from Youtubers like Michael Reeves and Colin Furze – they have some really interesting projects!

How did you hear about the SOA apprenticeship?

I actually heard about it from one of my teachers who knew that I had been interested in robotics and engineering for a while. When I saw the apprenticeship name was ‘Robotic Process Automation’ I signed up from there as I thought it looked interesting.

I had never really considered software robotics before looking at this course, but when I saw the video on the SOA website with the bots in action, I thought that it looked really cool.

What made you decide to take the apprenticeship route?

I had mostly been looking at universities as there weren’t too many apprenticeships out there that I was interested in (robotics engineering), but when the apprenticeship came up, I realised it was really unique. I don’t think there are any courses quite like it teaching what SOA teaches.

I think university is really good for socialising and great for learning, but I think in terms of learning for me, doing things practically is the way I have learnt best, instead of reading and writing as much. I have always learnt best by ‘doing’, which is what the apprenticeship gives you the chance to do; you can go on a project with a client and get the experience, plus you are learning as you go on the actual course. At the stage I am at, I think I have learnt a lot that I wouldn’t have at university in a shorter space of time and I have the client experience as well.

How have you found the course so far?

For the first 10 weeks it was almost entirely focused on development skills, but we have been going through general skills as well – presentations, tech, health & safety – Skills that are transferable which can be used in any sector.

I can see that from when I started the course, I am far better at interreacting with clients and doing the development work as well. I have also got significantly better at working in a team as well. What surprised me most was how openly clients have accepted me given I am only 17 yrs old and on an apprenticeship. I have not been treated any differently to someone with more experience which has been really good and helped me perform better.

How have you coped with working and learning remotely with Covid?

Just now I am working on a process that has three parts – I am working on the first and third part and my colleague is working on the middle section and there’s a lot of coordination to try and get that to all come together. Although she is down in London and I am in Glasgow we work together a lot online be that chat or video, and it works well.

When it comes to support, I can always go to the rest of the students on the apprenticeship with me, the people on my project team and pretty much anyone I know at SOA or ABP – they are always willing to help.

What advice would you give to people leaving school?

I wouldn’t say any one path is for everyone, I wouldn’t say university is for everyone. I’d say look at where you want to go and if you don’t know that yet, look at your hobbies and what you enjoy and work your way back from there.

And what are you looking to do in the future?

I am not 100% sure what path I am going to go for, but I am thinking I will probably head to university after the 18 months – partly for the social aspect and partly for the course. I am thinking of something engineering based as that was my other interest.

Finally, what do you think the future of RPA is?

I think there is a lot of future in RPA - it is basically the way forward. It’s an investment to get RPA in the first place, but given the research I have done on how much time it saves per process, it’s very much worth that investment.