LEIGH College will open a digital skills academy including a laboratory with walking robots in September.

The facility at Leigh Sports Village has been developed in response to research which found there are skills shortages in the IT industry including cyber security, software development and programming.

According to north west labour market analysis (Emsi) there is over a four per cent rise in employment opportunities for programmers and software developers as well as information technology and telecommunications professionals.

The academy aims to meet the needs of the digital sector including the games development industry where there are particular skills shortages for high-powered mathematicians and computer scientists in the UK.

The college is developing three learning laboratories; each with equipment focusing on a specific digital specialism will enhance the student learning experience.

There will be a robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory that is designed to develop students building and programming of robots to fulfil a range of activities.

It will have equipment such as walking robots, including a six-legged spider robot, robotic arms and 3D AI software.

Another specialist area is the "Internet of Things" laboratory, which will comes equipped with facilities to develop electronic products that sense their immediate environment and allow for automated control of home electronics with integration via smart home products like Amazon Alexa and Hive.

And a cyber security and digital technologies laboratory will allow students to develop skills in the use of software and techniques in web development as well as cloud computing and games development with the use of virtual reality technologies.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport’s research findings suggest there are cyber security skills gaps in basic and high level technical skills, as well as managerial, planning and organisation skills.

Half of an estimated 1.32 million UK businesses are not confident about carrying out cyber security risk assessments or preparing cyber security training meaning there will be plenty of positions available in this sector.

Further findings from the labour market review suggest that skills in artificial intelligence and data analytics for example will be in greater demand.

Leigh Journal:

There will be three laboratories in the academy

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Head of business and computing Nick Long said: “The new state of the art facilities will provide a unique learning experience which will help to prepare our students for both higher level study and progression to employment.

“Our specially designed courses are aimed to provide our students with technical skills preparation for an ever expanding digital industry where the opportunities for employment are much greater.”

To find out more about the Digital Skills Academy go to the college on Monday, March 16 from 4:30pm to 7pm.