Final year Digital Degree Apprentice credits UWTSD for boosting career promotion opportunities

Final year Digital Degree Apprentice Adam Moore has much to celebrate – a series of rapid promotions and subsequent new roles at Hywel Dda University Health Board - and that’s before he even graduates!

It’s a far cry from his days at school, where he admits he was labelled as an under achiever. But since joining UWTSD's Digital Degree Apprenticeship programme, he’s using his new skills and expertise to further his career.

Adam said: “I struggled at school, not really feeling motivated to achieve despite my strong academic ability. I left after my A Levels and completed my first degree but still had no clear vision about where my career would take me. So, I applied for a few part-time jobs at home in Pembrokeshire while I thought about my future.”

It took six months for Adam to find a permanent role he had an interest in – a system administrator at Hywel Dda University Health Board, and that’s when his situation began to change.

“Experiencing this fast-paced environment for the first time was a real eye-opener; I unlocked a huge amount of motivation that I previously lacked. I didn’t have the technical skills and qualifications needed to progress and pursue further opportunities. It may be surprising, but it turns out the NHS doesn’t have a serious need for Marine Biology graduates! I’m grateful that my bosses at Hywel Dda were supportive and my requests were encouraged and before long I was introduced to UWTSD, where I learnt about degree apprenticeships.

“This seemed a perfect option for me. I wanted to progress in my career and knew that returning to education whilst working was the way to do it. I had recently bought my first house at the age of 23 and couldn’t afford to lose any income. The degree apprenticeship programme solved both financial problems and provides flexibility. You quickly become part of a close network of support with lecturers with industry skills who can guide you and for me, the process has given me a huge confidence boost and helped me to achieve my goals.”

Within 4 months of enrolling at UWTSD, Adam had been promoted from a band 4 to 5, rising to a band 7, just a few months later.

“This all happened within my first year at the University and I can honestly say that it wouldn’t have happened this way without UWTSD,” he said. “The support and encouragement from my lecturers gave me the confidence in my ability to apply for promotion. The modules I studied were so relevant I was able to use what I’d learnt in my role at Hywel Dda. It’s enabled me to grow and develop – fast. Learning on the job and developing new skills as needed is an effective way to solve problems. In my case, though, I felt there were gaps in my knowledge and understanding that came from learning in this way. The degree course, I feel, filled these knowledge gaps, and gave me far more ‘complete’ knowledge of each subject matter rather than just knowledge at just a functional level.

“Over the last few years, the Health Analytics Team have leveraged machine learning, discrete event simulation, deep learning techniques, geographical information systems, time series analysis, statistical analysis and more to produce high quality analytics throughout the organisation. For my final year project, I am currently building a discrete event simulation model for one of our emergency departments. The simulation model will be deployed as a web-application and users will be able to perform what-if scenario analysis by altering features of the department, running the simulations, and evaluating the results. This will be a risk-free environment in which we can test any change to the emergency department system and test it in a quantitative way.”

Dr Stephen Hole, Apprentice Liaison Officer said: “Adam has grasped the opportunity to study for a second degree with UWTSD ‘s Digital Degree Apprenticeship scheme. Thanks to his employer’s support, his new found motivation and the lecturing staff at UWTSD, he has found a new purpose and is fully utilising his much-enhanced skillset. It is good to see that Adam has gained a number of promotions in the workplace that he attributes to his studies as a Digital Degree Apprentice.  Adam’s confidence has grown with his technical abilities and his new skillset is enhancing the project work he is undertaking with his Health Board.

“The Digital Degrees are designed and maintained with close links to industry and commerce, and this has helped Adam fill the gaps in his knowledge with relevant learning from the lecturing team and work colleagues.  Adam’s pathway whilst being unique to him shares many similarities with other UWTSD Digital Degree Apprentices.”

Further Information

Rebecca Davies

Swyddog Gweithredol Cysylltiadau â’r Wasg a’r Cyfryngau

Executive Press and Media Relations Officer

Cyfathrebu Corfforaethol a Chysylltiadau Cyhoeddus

Corporate Communications and PR

Mobile: 07384 467071

Email: Rebecca.Davies@uwtsd.ac.uk