Northcoders welcomes Baroness Jones of Whitchurch to its Leeds campus

During her visit, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch met with three members of the Northcoders leadership team: Amul Batra, Chief Partnerships Officer; Steven Oakes Chief Marketing Office; and Lucy Levy, Head of Partnerships and Careers. Together they shared with her the company’s evolution from being the first ever Digital Bootcamp provider in the North of England to now operating and working with students right across the UK. She also spent time with two learners and heard all about why they had decided to enrol in a Data Engineering Bootcamp. One student had worked for a scientific publisher and was made redundant because his role was cut due to the advancement of AI, and the other had previously worked in a charity shop but wanted a complete career change.

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch was then introduced to some of the company’s COUNTER consultants and their tech leads who are working in the government and finance sectors. COUNTER was launched earlier this year and specialises in deploying UK-based teams of technologists into corporate clients. They build dedicated teams that align technically and culturally with clients’ long-term goals. COUNTER is a challenger brand to the current consultancy and ‘Hire, Train and Deploy’ sector. Every consultant has completed Northcoders’ training and are proficient in modern cloud and software solutions, including AI/ML development, data and cloud engineering.

In her role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch is responsible for online safety and counter-disinformation; the Digital Markets Unit; as well as tech policy and market facing technology, including skills. She also oversees international strategy, including electronic trade; economic security; technology diffusion; technology investment; national security and resilience; and the Geospatial Commission. Baroness Jones of Whitchurch joined the House of Lords in 2006 and was Director of Policy and Public Affairs for UNISON for 12 years.

Steven Oakes said: “We were delighted to welcome Baroness Jones of Whitchurch to our Leeds campus as she is one of the key figures who is truly championing the importance of digital skills. It was fantastic for a couple of our students to tell their stories and really demonstrate to her the difference being on a Northcoders course will make to their lives. As a business, we are committed to making tech careers accessible to as many people as possible and that mission will continue.”