Digital Skills Roundtable Discussion

Having the right digital skills can enable Bradford residents to access higher level jobs and support businesses within the district to prosper, a meeting of the city’s business leaders hosted by West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce has heard.

Chamber members came together at the head offices of Yorkshire Building Society together with the Chamber’s policy and Local Skills Improvement Plan colleagues to provide a digital skills roundtable to discuss how some of Bradford’s leading businesses are adapting to the forever changing digital landscape.

Incoming Bradford Chamber President Rebecca Fitzgerald, director of data and AI at Yorkshire Building Society, and her team provided valuable information about how they are tackling the skills agenda, upskilling, re-skilling and the challenges they face.

Delegates discussed how, if AI is here to stay, then the correct way of up-skilling needs to be thought about and implemented as quickly as possible. 

The group then got to discuss the challenges their organisations are facing, in relation to digital. All agreeing that correct upskilling and data growth can help with businesses retention and wider opportunities.

Artificial Intelligence is something that is being introduced to all manner of businesses. The role authorities and government play to police this, requires responsible leaders.

Among those around the table were Bradford College, Bradford Council, EY Foundation, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Bradford UK City of Culture 2025, Schofield Sweeney Solicitors, Talk Straight Group, pjm:digital  and Bradford Digital.

This, along with other skill roundtables are an integral part of our Local Skills Improvement Plan delivery.

The team at YBS went into detail how their organisation is using digital to evolve, adapt and upskill their staff to levels that can complete multiple job functions. 

Rebecca and colleagues started the discussion stating that AI skills are being delivered to their staff and described the reality that re-skilling the work force needed to be an ongoing objective as technology is evolving rapidly.

Pictured: Will Evans-Jones, Katie Rigarlsford, Rebecca Fitzgerald, John McMahon, Judith Jackson,
Alexandra Willans, Dulcie Hayden, Phil Myerscough, Mark Cowgill, Graham Sweeney, Dan Macey, Josie Hanlon, John Hampshire.

They talked about their participation in the Yorkshire and Humber Financial and Professional Skills Commission, formed in 2023, of which they are a part, together with others such as the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA). The work of this group will continue this year across the regions, with the aim of making Yorkshire and the Humber the financial and professional services capital, behind London.

Attendees all agreed that the recent announcements in the Governments spending review that £2bn for AI action plans and £1.2bn a year for young people and training was a good thing. Money that will hopefully support the policing and education for Artificial Intelligence.

Graham Sweeney from Schofield Sweeney Solicitors discussed the challenges and what they are currently experiencing in the digital and AI sectors in their day-to-day work. This included highlighting other law firms all upskilling and teaching staff members to a certain level as a team and organisation.

However, for companies the size of 180 and below, he sighted the challenges of finding affordable and high-quality training providers.

“Legal firms have a high demand for AI, which is only going to increase. There is a natural concern around making sure skills are kept up to date, making upskilling a challenge in an already changing sector, especially regarding the complexity of regulation and compliance,” Graham said.

Mark Cowgill, Bradford Chamber president and acquisitions director at Talk Straight Group, discussed how his business has switched things around to grapple with digital and tech. Taking a data first and technology second approach. Marks company is in tech and admitted skilling and up-skilling will help as he’s seen first-hand challenge of getting people into this line of work.

Mark agreed that a focus needs to be finding people and finding talents, responsible leaders, security, policing of AI and up-skilling.