Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Specialist
What is Digital Native’s AI Deployment Programme?
The AI programme uses the Level 7 AI (Data Specialist) apprenticeship standard as a tool that your organisation can use to:
- Upskill and develop your people in AI and ML technologies
- Explore and assess your organisations readiness to implement AI
- Understand the risks and governance required to deliver AI solutions
- Develop an AI proof of concept or solution for an identified business problem
“Machine learning and A.I. is a horizontal enabling layer,” he said. “It will empower and improve every business, every government organization, every philanthropy. Basically, there’s no institution in the world that cannot be improved with machine learning.“
Amazon CEO – Jeff Bezos
How will it work?
By joining the programme you’ll access:
- Tools and methodologies to rapidly implement AI solutions
- An AI community that meets weekly online
- A bespoke, structured, learning programme
- Coaching from individuals with a track record of delivering business critical tech projects
- Monthly tutorial discussions exploring relevant AI topics
- You will also need to complete a real-world AI project that allows you to showcase that you’ve met all the criteria of the Level 7 AI Data Specialist Apprenticeship Standard
What topics will I explore on the Programme?
What you’ll learn and do
The programme leverages the thinking of organisations such as The Alan Turing Institute and their recently published guide to ethical and responsible design, development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence.
During the programme you will:
- Understand and identify business risks and ethical considerations for industry AI solutions
- Identify potential business problems/opportunities for improvement through AI
- Scope the impact i.e. The organisation, People, Process and Technology that will be impacted
- Build a business case
- Research solutions/models/algorithms
- Identify/prepare the data required
- Develop an AI MVP
- Test and validate the output of the AI MVP
- Develop cost models for technical deployment options
- Review the business case against costs
- Identify how to integrate and deploy the AI solution into the existing processes
- Develop user training in how to get the best from the AI solution
- Develop support and maintenance capability for the AI
“The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the internet, and the mobile phone.”
Microsoft Co-founder – Bill Gates
How do I join the programme?
To join you’ll need:
- To be employed and in a role where you will explore, design, test and implement AI solutions
- A sponsor in your organisation who’ll support you and oversee your AI project
- A project proposal (a real-world business problem)
- Approval from a senior digital person in your organisation, e.g. CIO, CTO, CDO etc
- A commitment to complete the Level 7 AI (Data Specialist) apprenticeship
- Commitment from your organisation to give you one day per week to develop new skills and deliver your project
- Meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Department for Education’s Apprenticeship Funding Rules including residency, evidence that you hold GCSE Maths and English at grade C (4) or above or a recognised equivalent and prior knowledge and skills
What’s the next steps?
To express your interest in joining the AI programme please head to our portal and complete the expression of interest form.
Degree Apprenticeships
DEGREE APPRENTICESHIPS – STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
Having partnered with universities that deliver degree apprenticeships and supported apprentices from their Level 3 and 4 apprenticeship all the way through to graduating with 1st class Honours degrees, our view on degree apprenticeships is:
Strengths
- Allow individuals to gain a degree with no debt.
- Allow individuals to develop the higher level skills that come from studying for a degree.
- Provide a great retention tool for employers to retain people for at least 3 or 4 years.
Weaknesses
- Degree apprenticeships are not as focused on developing the knowledge and skills the individual needs to do their job as Level 3 and 4 apprenticeships.
- Only year 3 is at Level 6.
At Digital Native we use this simple explanation:
Our Solution
At Digital Native we think employers and apprentices gain the maximum benefit from an apprenticeship by not choosing one or the other, but by combining the strengths of both.
We advocate a model where apprentices start their journey, their 1st tech job on an apprenticeship with Digital Native and then where appropriate, they progress onto Yr2 of a degree apprenticeship with one of our university referral partners, where they complete their degree over two years.
If you are an employer and would like to find out about this model, please fill in the form below and one of our directors will be in touch.
Undertaking a Degree Apprenticeship.
If you are looking to undertake a degree apprenticeship you need to apply for an employer’s degree apprenticeship vacancy.
You can find the vacancies for the employers we work with here (Click Here)
or you can find all of the apprenticeship vacancies in the country here (Click Here) just select the degree level in the options.
If you have any questions about applying for a degree apprenticeship vacancy please see our FAQ page (Click Here).
It is very competitive, Good Luck in your search,.
Employer Degree Apprenticeship Enquiry Form.
DN Apprentices
Why do a digital apprenticeship?
Digital apprenticeships offer a route for individuals to get their 1st tech job or to cross train / upskill in a new discipline.
Through a structured, coached development programme we’ll take you from a newbie to a junior team member over a period of 15 – 18 months and support you to develop the professional skills, knowledge, and behaviours you’ll need to succeed.
During this time, you’ll be gaining real experience, solving real problems whilst being paid to complete a Level 4 or Level 3 apprenticeship.
Over 95% of our apprentices remain employed by their employer after their apprenticeship with many progressing onto degree apprenticeships or studying for further professional qualifications.
What apprenticeships do Digital Native deliver?
Our focus is digital apprenticeships, and we deliver in the following disciplines:
- Software Development
- Software Testing
- Business Analysis
- Data Analysis
- Support
See more information about our apprenticeship pathways below.
Our pathways.
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
LEVEL 4
Build and test simple, high-quality code across front end, logic and database layers.
Work alongside developers, learning programming languages such as C#, JavaScript and Java.
Become a member of the British Computer Society.
Duration: 12-18 months
Starting salary: £15,000 to £22,000 per annum
SOFTWARE TESTER
LEVEL 4
Design and prepare test plans and conduct software testing to ensure that software is fit for purpose
Deliver a range of test strategies, plans and scripts on software applications
Become a member of the British Computer Society
Duration: 12-18 months
Starting Salary: £15,000 to £22,000 per annum
BUSINESS ANALYST
LEVEL 4
Identify project stakeholders, map out complex business change.
Communicate progress and check that the solution meets requirements.
Become a member of the British Computer Society.
Duration: 18 months
Starting Salary: £15,000 to £22,000 per annum
DATA ANALYST
LEVEL 4
Collect, analyse and visualise data using advanced data modelling techniques to drive business decisions.
Learn the fundamentals of the data lifecycle including database system design, implementation and maintenance.
Become a member of the British Computer Society.
Duration: 18 months
Starting Salary: £15,000 to £22,000 per annum
SUPPORT TECHNICIAN
LEVEL 3
Deliver technical or application support to internal or external customers.
Help set up users, deliver infrastructure projects and support your business to use technology.
Learn the fundamentals of cloud computing, operating systems and mobile devices.
Duration: 12-14 months
Starting Salary: £12,000 to £18,000 per annum
SOFTWARE TECHNICIAN
LEVEL 3
Support software teams to deliver to internal or external customers.
Help find bugs and issues, work on small changes while you grow in confidence.
Learn the fundamentals of Programming, Agile and DevOps.
Duration: 12-14 months
Starting Salary: £12,000 to £18,000 per annum
DATA TECHNICIAN
LEVEL 3
Support data teams to deliver to internal or external customers.
Manage spreadsheets and reporting, work on small changes while you grow in confidence.
Learn the fundamentals of Data Analytics, Dashboard Design and Data Quality.
Duration: 12-14 months
Starting Salary: £12,000 to £18,000 per annum
I'm interested - What do I need to do?
An apprenticeship is a job with a structured development programme. Therefore, unlike a university or college course you can’t simply apply to do an apprenticeship, you need to apply for and successfully secure one of our apprenticeship opportunities.
You can click on the APPLY NOW button below where you’ll be taken to our careers site where all our vacancies are listed, and you can submit your application. You can also choose to connect with Digital Native where you’ll be sent updates on events, job seeking tips and tech careers information.
Before applying you may want to read our A SIMPLE GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE CVs which outlines how you can make your application stand out.
Data Technician L3
Grow your team with a budding data technician
Are you looking to provide an opportunity for someone to start their career in data? Do you need an extra pair of hands to work under supervision within your data or information teams to build and manage simple excel or analytic solution? Do you have someone internally who is ready to make the step up from being an spreadsheet administrator?
Our passion is helping you nurture digital talent. We want to help junior data technicians to build the careers they desire and find a sense of belonging through their apprenticeship. So however big their ambitions are, they’ll always remember where they started.
What will my apprentice learn?
Your apprentice will gain industry recognised qualifications and we’ll coach them through topics including:
- Software development methodologies
- Secure development principles
- Software development lifecycle
- Logic – writing simple code
- Data – making simple connections
- Configuration management and version control
- Use cases and process maps
- User experience design
- Testing
- Problem solving
How does it work?
Are you looking to hire a new team member or do you have someone in mind? If you’ve already got someone on board, you may want to skip to the next section. Otherwise, keep reading.
Step 1: We work with you to recruit an apprentice. We’ll advertise your vacancy, conduct the initial screening and telephone interviews and set work-related challenges at no extra cost, before passing promising candidates to you for interview. Candidates range from school and college leavers to graduates to those with some work experience under their belt.
Step 2: You interview a selection of candidates and make the hiring decision. The apprentice is employed by you and works within your business. They spend 20% of their time (approx. 1 day per week) on off-the-job training, working towards their Level 3 qualification.
Step 3: Over 18 months, we coach your apprentice through their exams and coursework and help them apply their new knowledge and skills in the workplace. This coaching can be delivered at one of our training venues, online or at your premises.
Step 4: As your apprentice develops their skills, they start adding huge value to your team and bring a fresh perspective to business challenges.
Step 5: Your apprentice undertakes End Point Assessment and successfully completes their apprenticeship.
How much does it cost?
If your business has an annual payroll bill of more than £3m you will already be paying the apprenticeship levy. This money can be used to fund apprenticeship training and any money not spent reverts to the government.
Once your levy fund has been spent, or if you have a PAYE bill of less than £3m, the government pays 95% of the apprenticeship cost and you pay the remaining 5%. For the Software Development Technician standard this means the maximum you will be asked to pay is £750 per apprentice towards the cost of their training.
The biggest cost to hiring an apprentice is their salary. Although the minimum wage for apprentices is £7.55 per hour, we’d recommend a salary of £18,000 to £22,000 per annum for a Software Technician to attract the right people to your role.
You can also take advantage of a £1,000 incentive payment from the government if your apprentice is aged 16-18 or 19-24 with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
What employers say.
Are you Digital Native?
Digital Support Technician L3
Grow your team with a driven digital support technician
Are you on the hunt for someone who can support digital transformation both internally and with clients? Need an extra pair of hands to maximise the use of digital technologies and provide support through online channels?
Our passion is helping you nurture digital talent. We want to help junior technicians build the careers they desire and find a sense of belonging through their apprenticeship. So however big their ambitions are, they’ll always remember where they started.
What will my apprentice learn?
Your apprentice will be coached through topics including:
- Digital technologies and information systems
- Implementation of digital technologies
- Data management and digital security
- User support and troubleshooting
- Organisational policies and standards
- Continuous improvement
- Working effectively with others
How does it work?
Are you looking to hire a new team member or do you have someone in mind? If you’ve already got someone on board, you may want to skip to the next section. Otherwise, keep reading.
Step 1: We work with you to recruit an apprentice. We’ll advertise your vacancy, conduct the initial screening and telephone interviews and set work-related challenges at no extra cost, before passing promising candidates to you for interview. Candidates range from school and college leavers to graduates to those with some work experience under their belt.
Step 2: You interview a selection of candidates and make the hiring decision. The apprentice is employed by you and works within your business. They spend 20% of their time (approx. 1 day per week) on off-the-job training, working towards their Level 3 qualification.
Step 3: Over 15 months, we coach your apprentice through their exams and coursework and help them apply their new knowledge and skills in the workplace. This coaching can be delivered at one of our training venues, online or at your premises.
Step 4: As your apprentice develops their skills, they start adding huge value to your team and bring a fresh perspective to business challenges.
Step 5: Your apprentice undertakes End Point Assessment and successfully completes their apprenticeship.
How much does it cost?
If your business has an annual payroll bill of more than £3m, you will already be paying the apprenticeship levy. This money can be used to fund apprenticeship training, and any money not spent reverts to the government.
Once your levy fund has been spent, or if you have a PAYE bill of less than £3m, the government pays 95% of the apprenticeship cost and you pay the remaining 5%.
The biggest cost to hiring an apprentice is their salary. Although the minimum wage for apprentices is £7.55 per hour, we’d recommend a salary of £15,000 to £22,000 per annum for an IT Technician to attract the right people to your role.
You can also take advantage of a £1,000 incentive payment from the government if your apprentice is aged 16-18 or 19-24 with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
What employers say.
Are you Digital Native?
Infrastructure Technician L3
Grow your team with a driven infrastructure technician
Are you on the hunt for someone to deliver 1st or 2nd line support for your internal or external customers? Do you need additional resource to help with standard builds, setting up users, delivering infrastructure projects or staffing support desks?
By hiring an apprentice you’re shaping the next generation of digital talent to solve your specific business needs and encourage a culture of learning and development within your organisation.
Our passion is helping you nurture digital talent. We want to help junior infrastructure technicians build the careers they desire and find a sense of belonging through their apprenticeship. So however big their ambitions are, they’ll always remember where they started.
Request more information.
What will my apprentice learn?
Our industry coaches will support your apprentice in gaining industry-recognised qualifications in the following areas. More importantly, they’ll coach them on how to apply this knowledge in the workplace. A typical programme could include:
- Networking and architecture – CompTIA A+, Microsoft MTA Network Fundamentals
- Mobile and operating systems – Security+, MTA Mobility and Devices Fundamentals
- Cloud services – MTA Cloud Fundamentals
- Coding and logic – BCS Coding and Logic
- Business processes – BCS Business Processes, ITIL Foundation Level
How does it work?
Are you looking to hire a new team member or do you have someone in mind? If you’ve already got someone on board, you may want to skip to the next section. Otherwise, keep reading.
Step 1: We work with you to recruit an apprentice. We’ll advertise your vacancy, conduct the initial screening and telephone interviews and set work-related challenges at no extra cost, before passing promising candidates to you for interview. Candidates range from school and college leavers to graduates to those with some work experience under their belt.
Step 2: You interview a selection of candidates and make the hiring decision. The apprentice is employed by you and works within your business. They spend 20% of their time (approx. 1 day per week) on off-the-job training, working towards their Level 3 qualification.
Step 3: Over 18 months, we coach your apprentice through their exams and coursework and help them apply their new knowledge and skills in the workplace. This coaching can be delivered at one of our training venues, online or at your premises.
Step 4: As your apprentice develops their skills, they start adding huge value to your team and bring a fresh perspective to business challenges.
Step 5: Your apprentice undertakes End Point Assessment and successfully completes their apprenticeship.
How much does it cost?
If your business has an annual payroll bill of more than £3m you will already be paying the apprenticeship levy. This money can be used to fund apprenticeship training and any money not spent reverts to the government.
Once your levy fund has been spent, or if you have a PAYE bill of less than £3m, the government pays 95% of the apprenticeship cost and you pay the remaining 5%. For the Infrastructure Technician standard this means the maximum you will be asked to pay is £750 per apprentice towards the cost of their training.
The biggest cost to hiring an apprentice is their salary. Although minimum wage for apprentices is £4.15 per hour, we’d recommend a salary of £12,000 to £18,000 per annum for an Infrastructure Technician to attract the right people to your role.
You can also take advantage of a £1,000 incentive payment from the government if your apprentice is aged 16-18 or 19-24 with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
On top of this, the government has introduced Covid response incentives, valid for starts until 31st January 2021. This entitles you to an additional £2,000 when you employ an apprentice aged 16-24 or £1,500 if the apprentice is over 25.
What employers say.
Are you Digital Native?
Business Analyst L4
Grow your team with an aspiring business analyst
Are you on the hunt for an IS business analyst? Do you need an extra pair of hands to support with investigating business situations, identifying and evaluating options for improvement or modelling business processes? Are you looking for help to facilitate, coordinate and document detailed business requirements? We’ll help you identify entry points to your team and map your apprentice’s progression as their skills develop.
Our passion is partnering with businesses like yours to nurture and grow great digital talent. We want to create opportunities for junior business analysts to build their careers and gain a sense of purpose and belonging from their apprenticeship. We know our apprentices have big ambitions and experience tells us they’ll always remember where they started.
What will my apprentice learn?
Your apprentice will gain industry recognised qualifications and we’ll coach them through topics including:
- Investigation techniques
- Business process modelling
- Requirements engineering and management
- Data modelling
- Gap analysis
- Acceptance testing
- Stakeholder analysis and management
- Business impact assessment
How does it work?
Are you looking to hire a new team member or do you have someone in mind? If you’ve already got someone on board, you may want to skip to the next section. Otherwise, keep reading.
Step 1: We work with you to recruit an apprentice. We’ll advertise your vacancy, conduct the initial screening and telephone interviews and set work-related challenges at no extra cost, before passing promising candidates to you for interview. Candidates range from school and college leavers to graduates to those with some work experience under their belt.
Step 2: You interview a selection of candidates and make the hiring decision. The apprentice is employed by you and works within your business. They spend 20% of their time (approx. 1 day per week) on off-the-job training, working towards their Level 4 qualification.
Step 3: Over 18 months, we coach your apprentice through their exams and coursework and help them apply their new knowledge and skills in the workplace. This coaching can be delivered at one of our training venues, online or at your premises.
Step 4: As your apprentice develops their skills, they start adding huge value to your team and bring a fresh perspective to business challenges.
Step 5: Your apprentice undertakes End Point Assessment and successfully completes their apprenticeship.
How much does it cost?
If your business has an annual payroll bill of more than £3m you will already be paying the apprenticeship levy. This money can be used to fund apprenticeship training and any money not spent reverts to the government.
Once your levy fund has been spent, or if you have a PAYE bill of less than £3m, the government pays 95% of the apprenticeship cost and you pay the remaining 5%. For the Business Analyst standard this means the maximum you will be asked to pay is £900 per apprentice towards the cost of their training.
The biggest cost to hiring an apprentice is their salary. Although the minimum wage for apprentices is £7.55 per hour, we’d recommend a salary of £18,000 to £25,000 per annum for a Business Analyst to attract the right people to your role.
You can also take advantage of a £1,000 incentive payment from the government if your apprentice is aged 16-18 or 19-24 with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
What employers say.
Are you Digital Native?
Software Technician L3
Grow your team with a budding software technician
Are you looking to provide an opportunity for someone to start their career as a developer? Do you need an extra pair of hands to work under supervision within your software development team to build simple software components, interpret simple design requirements, implement code and test solutions?
Our passion is helping you nurture digital talent. We want to help junior software development technicians to build the careers they desire and find a sense of belonging through their apprenticeship. So however big their ambitions are, they’ll always remember where they started.
What will my apprentice learn?
Your apprentice will gain industry recognised qualifications and we’ll coach them through topics including:
- Software development methodologies
- Secure development principles
- Software development lifecycle
- Logic – writing simple code
- Data – making simple connections
- Configuration management and version control
- Use cases and process maps
- User experience design
- Testing
- Problem solving
How does it work?
Are you looking to hire a new team member or do you have someone in mind? If you’ve already got someone on board, you may want to skip to the next section. Otherwise, keep reading.
Step 1: We work with you to recruit an apprentice. We’ll advertise your vacancy, conduct the initial screening and telephone interviews and set work-related challenges at no extra cost, before passing promising candidates to you for interview. Candidates range from school and college leavers to graduates to those with some work experience under their belt.
Step 2: You interview a selection of candidates and make the hiring decision. The apprentice is employed by you and works within your business. They spend 20% of their time (approx. 1 day per week) on off-the-job training, working towards their Level 3 qualification.
Step 3: Over 18 months, we coach your apprentice through their exams and coursework and help them apply their new knowledge and skills in the workplace. This coaching can be delivered at one of our training venues, online or at your premises.
Step 4: As your apprentice develops their skills, they start adding huge value to your team and bring a fresh perspective to business challenges.
Step 5: Your apprentice undertakes End Point Assessment and successfully completes their apprenticeship.
How much does it cost?
If your business has an annual payroll bill of more than £3m you will already be paying the apprenticeship levy. This money can be used to fund apprenticeship training and any money not spent reverts to the government.
Once your levy fund has been spent, or if you have a PAYE bill of less than £3m, the government pays 95% of the apprenticeship cost and you pay the remaining 5%. For the Software Development Technician standard this means the maximum you will be asked to pay is £750 per apprentice towards the cost of their training.
The biggest cost to hiring an apprentice is their salary. Although the minimum wage for apprentices is £7.55 per hour, we’d recommend a salary of £15,000 to £22,000 per annum for a Software Technician to attract the right people to your role.
You can also take advantage of a £1,000 incentive payment from the government if your apprentice is aged 16-18 or 19-24 with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
What employers say.
Are you Digital Native?