Hackney Council Data and AI Academy
Accelerating digital transformation for employers in Hackney
Introducing the Data & AI Academy
As a part of ongoing efforts to address the growing demand for data and AI professionals, Hackney Council has launched a Data and AI Academy, aimed at employers looking to equip their staff with the relevant skills to increase productivity, boost innovation, and accelerate digital transformation.
As businesses increasingly rely on data-driven insights to make decisions, there is a critical need for individuals with the right skills to work with data and AI technologies. Through the launch of this new initiative, in partnership with Cambridge Spark, Hackney Council is offering non levy paying organisations the opportunity to access cutting-edge programmes, with expert guidance and mentorship from industry professionals.
Supporting Local Business
If you are a Hackney based company that's interested in upskilling your staff in data, but don't currently pay towards the apprenticeship levy, eligible employers have the opportunity to place their staff on Data Analyst or AI apprenticeships, with the cost funded by the Apprenticeship Levy transferred from Hackney Council.
See some of our programmes below:
Join our next enrolment:
Programme duration:15 months
Ideal For: Teams looking to build enterprise-grade capability across core ML development, commercially focused AI product roles, and specialised MLOps or Solutions Engineering paths.
Summary: Over 15 months, participants master the entire ML lifecycle, from data preparation to model deployment and maintenance. Designed for technical professionals seeking to lead AI implementation and drive innovation.
Programme duration: 14 months
Ideal for: Analysts and intermediate-to-advanced users of spreadsheets in need of more efficient and powerful tools for working with data on a regular basis.
Build your organisation’s data analytics and Python capabilities at scale with our Level 4 Data Analyst Apprenticeship. Equip your employees with the technical skill set to extract, manipulate and visualise data, empowering them to answer complex questions and drive strategic value.
Programme duration: 14 months
Ideal for: Operational leads, business analysts, and digital champions looking to automate workflows and embed scalable, responsible AI tools across their organisation.
The Level 4 AI & Automation Practitioner apprenticeship empowers teams to apply GenAI and low-code/no-code automation directly to real workplace challenges. Through work-integrated training, learners design and scale governed AI-enabled workflows to eliminate operational friction and deliver immediate productivity gains.
Programme duration: 13 months
Ideal for: Professionals looking for an in-depth course to improve their confidence, knowledge & skills in leveraging data to make better, faster more informed decisions.
A data-driven organisation requires a minimum level of data skills across the workforce. As organisations increase the number of technical teams working in Python programming, other teams need to be data literate to maximise working effectively with technical teams. The Level 3 Data Citizen Apprenticeship provides the right data literacy training for learners to embed data in their daily work to make data-led decisions and maximise new tools and technologies in data and artificial intelligence (AI).
FAQs
Apprenticeships support people entering the workforce and upskill existing UK-based employees—offering both long-term qualification pathways and flexible, short-term training units—enabling employers to foster a highly-skilled workforce.
The UK government introduced the Apprenticeship Levy scheme in April 2017 to drive investment in strengthening the country’s skills base. It has since evolved into the Growth and Skills Levy.
All organisations with annual staff costs of over £3m have to pay 0.5% of their salary bill into a ring-fenced levy pot. The money is collected monthly via PAYE and can be used for approved apprenticeship schemes as well as accredited short-term training units (such as modular digital and technical skills training). Organisations must forfeit any levy funding left unspent for 12 months or more.
Off-the-job training is defined as learning undertaken outside of regular day-to-day work duties, delivered during the apprentice’s normal working hours.
Our training is delivered flexibly—at the place of work, remotely, or off-site. For full-length programmes, this satisfies the statutory requirement (a baseline of 6 hours per week calculated over the duration of the apprenticeship), giving learners dedicated time to develop the knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed to successfully complete their qualification.
Managers are responsible for ensuring apprentices are allocated time to achieve their planned off-the-job training hours and progress their project portfolio.
Managers are expected to conduct regular 1-to-1s with their apprentice and are required to participate in mandatory tripartite progress reviews with the apprentice and their training coach at least once every 12 weeks (3–4 months) to review progress against the training plan and ensure compliance with funding requirements.
For organisations that do not pay the levy (annual staff costs under £3m), training can be funded either through government co-investment or via a levy transfer.
A levy-paying employer can transfer up to 50% of their annual unused levy funds to other businesses, such as suppliers, sector partners, or local SMEs. Transferring employers can set their own criteria for receiving candidates, such as geographic location, sector priorities, or specific job roles.