Atos employees skill up with introduction of Information Management Academy

Atos, an international IT services company, and the University of Derby Corporate (UDC) have collaborated to develop and implement the Atos Information Management Academy. The Academy, which was introduced in December 2011, is the first company run IT course to be accredited by the University of Derby.  It is designed to nurture talent, by allowing Atos business technologists to work and gain a professional qualification simultaneously.

The academy is delivered using a series of classroom training sessions that cover all the aspects of Information Management. The academy harnesses the existing expertise within the Atos Information Management Practice by providing highly skilled, experienced staff as course tutors. These consultants undergo rigorous tutor training to equip them with the skills to deliver the classroom training. As a result of undertaking UDC’s Supporting Work Based Learning development programme, the tutors have the potential to go on to achieve Associate Lecturer and HE Academy Fellowship status.   

The course is worth 60 credits at level six and is the equivalent of half a final year of a degree which, with an additional 60 credits at level six, could result in a BSc qualification. It takes between six to nine months to complete, where three to four months are a combination of residential courses and work based application.

The course content is created by experts within the Atos Information Management Practice. University of Derby Corporate ensures that the course material is of the required academic standard. The current graduates participating in the course will cover three core components, vital to their role in the Information Management Practice:

·        Personal Development – encourages team and customer facing skills by developing communication and negotiation skills.
·        Data Management – covering all the aspects the student may face in projects. This covers data modelling, database management, data quality, master data management and data migration/integration. Further modules are planned for inclusion.
·        Business Intelligence – covering the purpose of business intelligence, business modelling, and report and dashboard creation.

Since the Academy was implemented, 12 Atos business technologists have already completed it. Each year, it is expected that 50 to 100 graduates or IT professionals, with an interest in specialising in information management will complete the course. This is a key growth area within the IT Sector, where there are more jobs available than experts.  

Ross Emmerson, Information Management (IM) - BI Analyst, Atos, who has completed the Academy comments: “The course has provided me with valuable skills, tools and techniques that can be immediately transferable to the workplace. Having another job specific qualification on my CV can only be beneficial. I may, in the future, decide to put the diploma towards a masters degree.”

Paul Bagley, Head of Learning & Development at Atos comments: “In line with our Wellbeing at Work programme, the launch of the Atos Information Academy further strengthens and extends our existing training programme and underlines our commitment to developing talent internally.  Through our partnership with the University of Derby Corporate, we are able to offer our employees a business focussed course and access to a university degree level qualification while working.”

Bagley continues: “Key to the success of the Information Management Academy is the use of Atos experts to develop and deliver the training. By providing our highly skilled employees with useful teaching and training abilities, their skills can be effectively transferred to others within the company. ”

Paul Wilkinson, Head of Corporate Partnerships, University of Derby Corporate, commented: “We are extremely pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Atos on this exciting initiative, which will provide them with long term business benefits. Atos has shown great commitment and enthusiasm in the development of its staff through this accredited programme. We look forward to growing our relationship with Atos over the coming years. ”