risual education and Prodigy Learning are proud to announce their strategic partnership as part of the risual Microsoft Academy programme.
risual education was formed by risual limited, Microsoft’s UK Country Partner of the Year 2015, to help address the digital skills shortage through collaboration with Microsoft and our industry expertise to create a centre of excellence for IT in one FE College in each LEP area. This is to take direct action in response to the UK Digital Skills Taskforce’s report “Digital Skills for Tomorrow’s Worlds” which highlights that Britain faces a growing shortage of digital skills.
The academies all host a Microsoft Imagine Academy enabling the College to embed Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) qualifications into their curriculum while also training staff to become Microsoft Certified Educators (MCE).
Through this partnership, Prodigy Learning, Certiport’s Global Partner of the Year 2016, will provide the relevant Microsoft certifications and supporting learning solutions (including Imagine Academy) at a reduced cost to risual Microsoft Academies. Each College will also become a Certiport Authorised Test Centre and Prodigy Learning will guide them to encourage effective use of the qualifications to drive success.
Alun Rogers from risual said of the partnership: “We are really proud to partner with Prodigy Learning. Here at risual we rely on the partner eco systems to supply experienced and knowledgeable partners such as Prodigy. Prodigy are market leaders for IT certifications and this partnership enables us to provide Microsoft certifications at reduced price to support colleges in driving digital skills. With Prodigy being awarded Global Partner of the Year Award in 2016 it is great to be working with experts in this field.”
Commenting on the announcement, Andrew Flood (CEO, Prodigy Learning) said: “We are delighted to partner with risual education and the colleges participating in the Microsoft Academy programme. This innovative approach will advance digital skills by embedding industry recognised global certification to programmes of study and apprenticeships. We look forward to seeing thousands of Microsoft certified students entering the workforce in the years ahead.”
risual academies have been opened in Stafford College, Derby College, College of West Anglia, Walsall College, Cardiff and Vale College, Accrington and Rossendale College and are due to launch in the College of North East London, Haringey and Enfield and other Colleges in the coming months.
This partnership will further strengthen the risual academy partnership, joining Tablet Academy, the UK’s leading education consultancy and teacher training organisation who deliver Microsoft training and workshops to staff and students, and Stone Computers who give access to devices for students.
About risual
risual are delighted to announce that we won the CRN “Best Apprenticeship Scheme Award” in July 2016 across all sectors, acknowledging the success of the scheme bridging the gap between industry end education whilst driving growth through the public sector and FE Colleges.
risual work with each academy to provide industry relevant IT apprenticeships, producing a collaborative delivery model with the competence elements delivered by risual as the industry experts. risual’s Employment Engagement Managers drive IT apprenticeship recruitment with our partners and local businesses across the UK, working with employers to provide industry expertise, embed Microsoft units and enhance apprenticeship offers utilising the College’s Imagine Academy. With the implementation of the Levy approaching, it is important companies are incorporating apprenticeships into their recruitment strategies. At risual our Employer Engagement Managers support you to calculate your levy contribution and support your workforce planning through training needs analysis and supporting you to recruit apprentices and to reskill your current workforce. For any support or guidance email education@risual.com
About Prodigy Learning
Prodigy Learning is a multi-award winning provider of IT learning and certification solutions for Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft and other technologies, and have recently been crowned Certiport Global Partner of the Year 2016. These IT certifications deliver job-ready skills, improving employability for students and productivity for employees.
As the Certiport Solution Provider for the UK & Ireland, Prodigy is responsible for managing the Adobe Certified Associate (ACA), Autodesk Certified User (ACU), Autodesk Certified Professional (ACP), Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) and Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) training and certification programmes. Learning solutions supporting these certifications include Textbooks, Online Learning Software, Practice Tests and Certification Exams. This range includes products from partners such as CCI Learning, GMetrix, LearnKey, MeasureUp, Microsoft Press and Wiley.
