Lyons announces eighth Assured Skills Academy with Alchemy Technology Services in the North West

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has announced 20 high quality training places in the eighth Assured Skills Academy with Alchemy Technology Services in the North West.

Funded by the Department for the Economy and delivered by North West Regional College, the Academy will be a five-week pre-employment training programme with modules covering both technical and non-technical topics. Participants, who successfully complete the Academy, have the opportunity to kick-start their career as a Technical Analyst, with a starting salary of £22,500, in Alchemy Technology Services.

Highlighting the opportunity, the Minister said: “Assured Skills Academies play a key role in helping people to reskill and upskill as we work to rebuild our local economy following the pandemic. The academies also have a successful track record in providing people with high quality training while helping employers access the skilled people they need to grow.

“Alchemy Technology Services is a successful and expanding locally-owned company and this eighth Academy will position participants strongly for a Technical Analyst role at the company. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone seeking a career in this growing sector and with a training allowance of £155 per week I would encourage anyone who is interested and eligible to apply.”

The training places are open to people with at least one of the following –

• 2:2 degree (IT related discipline) or be on track to achieve this upon completion of the Academy;
• Level 5 qualification in an IT related discipline;
• have completed a MSc (IT related discipline) or be on track to achieve this within the current academic year.

Ideally candidates will have a grounding in Java, .Net, C# or C++ and understanding of Object-Oriented design principles. European languages are desirable.

Alchemy Technology Services CEO and Founder John Harkin said: “We are delighted to be opening our eighth Assured Skills Academy for applications. Our previous Academies have been very successful and we have seen our people thrive in their roles. The team have cemented Alchemy’s place as a key player in the insurance software industry.

“We have developed a leading rewards package for our people, offering competitive international salaries while providing locally-based career development and opportunities for travel. At Alchemy we are committed to the continued growth of our people through ongoing investment to ensure they are trained and certified to the highest levels in our field of expertise.”

Sinead Hawkins, Business Skills Manager at NWRC, said: “NWRC has a strong track record of collaborating with local business to deliver real benefits. With support from the Department for the Economy, the college can provide cutting edge research and innovation expertise and also, such as with Assured Skills, high quality training to ensure employers have the people they need to keep growing. We look forward to working with the latest cohort of participants for the Alchemy Assured Skills Academy.”

Due to Covid-19 Alchemy has moved to a remote working model. However, as restrictions continue to be lifted applicants may be expected to spend part of their time on site with the client, working alongside the business and technical teams.

Applications for the Alchemy Technology Services Assured Skills Academy are open until noon on Monday 28 March 2022. Training will run from 20 June to 22 July.

For more information and to apply, visit the Assured Skills page on nidirect at: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/assured-skills-training-programme