Zurich leads the way with sector's first data academy

- Zurich develops industry’s first levy funded Data Academy
- Supports Zurich’s global data commitment to protect customers information
- Funded with over £500K by Government apprenticeship levy

Zurich has launched a data academy as part of its commitment to being a data confident organisation and equipping its people with skills for the future.  In an industry first, Zurich becomes the first financial services provider and insurer to launch a data academy.

In order to keep up with the new skills’ demand and build a pipeline of talent, Zurich’s academy is being developed in partnership with Arch Apprenticeships powered by Avado, to provide an 18 month apprenticeship scheme.

Candidates will join the academy from across different areas of Zurich’s UK business including underwriting, claims, IT and HR.  The apprenticeship will be delivered by Arch (ALS Training in Wales and Sixth Sense in Scotland) via a mix of face to face sessions, online study, hackathons and individual work based projects.

Zurich’s data academy apprentices will get the opportunity to apply learning in their roles, developing their skills to use data to benefit customers.  This includes keeping personal data safe and using insights to help Zurich to continue delivering innovative solutions beyond insurance such as smart services for people’s homes and to improve health and wellbeing.

Data, as a key discipline in the insurance jobs market has seen rapid development, with the teams sitting under Zurich’s Chief Data Officer growing from 12 to 120 in the last 3 years.

Anita Fernqvist, UK Chief Data Officer at Zurich (pic left)says “We’re incredibly excited to be the first financial services provider to be launching a data academy. 

“Data sits at the very core of any insurance business. Zurich has roles ranging from development, architecture, data science, artificial intelligence and customer insight analysis to name but a few. The data academy is a fantastic opportunity to support and grow our talent in an ever expanding and exciting field.”

Rob Devey, AVADO’s Chairman adds, “Having led a number of large financial services businesses, I appreciate the challenges of becoming a data driven organisation, but also the massive opportunities presented to those bold enough to take that step.  AVADO is a world leader in helping organisations build a digital and data culture and we are incredibly proud of our data academy partnership with Zurich, who are using their Apprenticeship Levy to build enduring data capabilities and skills for their people.  I'm excited to see Zurich equipping their people to respond to today's business and customer needs and would encourage more businesses to think like them.”

Successful candidates will complete a Level 4 Data Analyst Apprenticeship and British Computer Society Diploma in Data Analysis and EMC Proven™ Professional Data Scientist Associate (EMCDSA) certification.

Zurich’s UK wide apprenticeship programme has delivered over 250 apprenticeships over the past four years.  Through the scheme Zurich sets out to recruit a diverse range of talent into the business as well as providing opportunities for existing staff to grow and up-skill. 

- Ends -