Marks & Spencer teams up with Decoded on Retail Data Academy
Marks & Spencer has teamed up with Decoded to create the world’s first Data Academy in retail.
With the M&S Data Academy taking staff from every job function within retail, M&S said the move will help it to achieve its aim of becoming a digital first business by creating a new raft of data skilled staff to lead its digital transformation.
The M&S leadership team will embark on a data leadership programme where they will get hands-on experience of new technology such as machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, M&S staff will be able to enrol on an 18 month in-work data science skills programme called The Data Fellowship where they will learn to harness data analytics tools such as “R” and “Python” and adopt new technologies.
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Learners will finish the programme with a Data Analytics qualification accredited by the British Computing Society.
The Data Fellowship is fully funded by the Apprenticeship Levy, the billion pound fund created by the Government to help upskill the UK workforce.
Steve Rowe, M&S chief executive, said: “This is our biggest digital investment in our people to date and the creation of the M&S Data Academy will upskill colleagues and provide them with an in-depth level of digital literacy as well as a data analytics qualification.
“Transformation of our business is key to survival and a huge part of this lies with our colleagues. We need to change our digital behaviours, mindsets and our culture to make the business fit for the digital age and our partnership with Decoded will enable us to do this.”
