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WANdisco Data Employer Skills Academy
The WANdisco Data Employer Skills Academy was the first Employer Skills Academy to launch in 2019. This academy was based at our City Campus and supported our Level 3 IT students to develop their knowledge and skills in the IT industry. David Richards, the CEO of WANdisco and local entrepreneur, was keen to work with the College, based on his own educational experiences. Now David returns to Sheffield to help support and develop our local future talent.
Recruitment for the WANdisco Data Employer Skills Academy took place every two years.
The WANdisco Data Employer Skills Academy provided the opportunity for its academy students to take part in WANdisco led masterclasses, workshops, site visits and placement opportunities to enhance their college studies. Students in the WANdisco academy also took part in projects set by the employer, including the Laptops for Kids campaign. By providing projects, this allowed all of the WANdisco academy students to gain hands-on experience and learn from industry experts.
Taking place in a WANdisco branded classroom and set up with interactive equipment, students were exposed to all areas of the IT business with various members of the WANdisco team, including those who are based in offices worldwide. Masterclasses include subjects such as
As part of the programme, there was an opportunity for two academy students to take part in an industry placement. This provided students with 315 hours of industry experience, in various aspects of the business, that they can then use for future applications. The students were selected on merit and will undergo further interviews in order to take part in this opportunity.
Following the success of the Laptops for Kids campaign, we're delighted to announce The Sheffield College's support of the Laptops for All campaign, a new drive to deliver essential access to the internet for disadvantaged households.
Six per cent of UK households remain offline, making it difficult to take part in activities including education, employment and healthcare or even stay in touch with friends and family.
To help support the campaign The Sheffield College campuses will continue to act as drop-off points for donated devices, which will then be securely erased by our WANdisco Data Academy students under the guidance of IT experts, ready for distribution to those in need.
To find out more about the campaign and how you can get involved or donate your old devices visit,
07/01/2020
The Sheffield College
04/01/2021
The Star
David Richards; Founder, CEO and Chairman of WANdisco PLC
WANdisco is shaping the future of data infrastructure with their ground-breaking LiveData platform, enabling companies to finally put all their data to work for the business – all the time, at any scale. WANdisco ensure data is always available, always accurate, and always protected across any combination of on-premises and cloud environments, regardless of distance and data source. They do this at hyperscale economics to support exponential data growth within the same IT budget.
Since co-founding the company in Silicon Valley in 2005, David Richards has led WANdisco on a course for rapid international expansion, opening offices in the UK, and China. A passionate advocate of entrepreneurship, he has established and successfully exited several highly successful silicon valley technology companies. David was the founder & CEO of Librados, an application integration software provider, and led the company’s acquisition by NASDAQ listed NetManage, Inc. in 2005.
My parents think this course is fantastic. Here I am coming to Sheffield and working for a global IT company like WANdisco.
George Allsop-Hayes
Wandisco Data Academy student
