The ‘driving force’ behind the UTC movement, The Rt. Hon Lord Kenneth Baker, will officially open ALET UTCs & Partners VIP Student Zone at Data Centre World on Wednesday 6 March.
The VIP Student Zone at Data Centre World is being hosted by the ALET & Partners Digital Futures Programme, which have been supported by Lord Baker since inception.
Lord Baker is passionate about bridging the gap between the world of education and the world of work, having co-founded the Baker Dearing Educational Trust in 2009, which is now responsible for 44 government-funded, STEM-focused UTCs across the country, educating c.19,000 students, and supported by more than 400 employers and universities.
Together, ALET UTCs & Partners have designed, launched and continue to deliver the Digital Futures Programme, a curriculum that educates young people in the specialist knowledge needed to forge successful careers in the digital infrastructure industry, incorporating the data centre and network infrastructure sectors. With the combined goal of addressing the digital infrastructure industry’s ongoing talent shortage, ALET UTCs & Partners are working in collaboration to tackle the talent shortage for good.
Lord Baker’s distinguished 39-year career as an MP included time as Home Education, and Environment Secretaries. He has been a prominent figure in the UK’s education provision, having introduced the National Curriculum through the 1988 Education Act, and he continues to make Parliamentary contributions regarding education, youth unemployment and apprenticeships.
Lord Baker said: “The Digital Futures Programme is offering hundreds of young students a skills pipeline to become experts in the digital infrastructure industry – a life-changing opportunity. It is just the programme that ought to be available on a much larger scale in Britain. I am very glad to see it being extended to further UTCs for the benefit of even more young people.”
- ALET UTCs & Partners are delighted to extend an open invitation to the official opening of the ALET UTCs & Partners VIP Student Zone by Lord Baker, stand D1120, 9.30am Wednesday 6 March. The VIP Student Zone will be open to everyone to drop in for a break, enjoy a coffee or have a chat with the students to learn first-hand how the initiative is changing young peoples’ futures. The Zone will be a hive of activity throughout the event, as ALET UTC students engage and learn with the industry leading exhibitors and take on challenges across the two days, aided by their Trust Partner mentors.
- Industry partners who support all ALET UTCs as Trust Partners, and who help to deliver the Digital Futures Programme, are: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ark Data Centres, CBRE, CNet Training, CyrusOne, Digital Realty, LMG, Virtus Data Centres, Yondr Group.
