Anna Coleman
Business Partnerships Manager at Weston College
LinkedIn
Hi Anna, thanks for agreeing to chat to me. Let’s start with a simple question; what do you do?
Hello, thank you for having me! I am a Business Partnerships Manager at Weston College.
What does a Business Partnerships Manager do?
In a nutshell, a Business Partnerships Manager at Weston College helps to connect education with industry by mobilising training support.
In my role I predominantly engage with employers to understand the skills needs of their workforce and offer tailored solutions. I’ve been referred to as a ‘social connector’ and ‘opportunity maker’ which I really love. Creating effective long-term partnerships is a key part of what I do and the most rewarding part is seeing our learners and employers working in tandem.
That sounds like a really varied and interesting role. Are there any projects you’re working on at the moment that you’re particularly passionate about?
It definitely is…no two days are ever the same! At the moment I’m working on a few different projects.
The first is called SPACEBAR, a community tech hub where our Digital and Computing students are helping businesses to build their online presence. The idea was conceived pre-pandemic and the collaboration is serving mutual benefit; it provides a workspace for students to gain industry experience whilst supporting local employers who need digital support for their business during and after the Covid-19 recovery.
The other project I am working on is called Tech Weston. With digital skills being fundamental to economic growth and recovery, myself and colleagues are engaging with employers to develop our digital provision. We want to prepare the current and future workforce to embrace and maximise the impact of digital innovation. By working with leaders across the tech industry, we are continuing to evolve our offer and making Weston College an attractive training destination for tech talent.
The third project is one that primarily supports SMEs in the South West and we are working with the West of England Combined Authority and other partners on this regional programme. Workforce for the Future is a free service that helps businesses to identify and address their skills needs, by supporting them to attract, upskill and retain talent to drive their ambitions forward.
Some of the themes arising with business recovery have been predominantly focused around digital, so we are currently working with employers to help realign and focus on their website and social media platforms
Wow! That’s a lot to be working on all at once. Have you always been interested in tech and digital innovation?
I definitely have more of an interest in tech now whereas before I took it for granted and just used it because it was there. Reforms in technology are happening all the time and I’ve seen first hand how digital innovation has a transformative power in all aspects of peoples lives. Since working at the college it’s certainly a sector that has been on my radar. Digital development and innovation is high on the agenda for many of our employers and we are seeing much more demand in terms of the skills needs; learners with digital capabilities are now expected rather than desired. In the last year especially I think we have all seen the impact technology has had in ensuring we are staying connected…it worries me to think of how a lot of us would have coped without Zoom or Teams at home and in the workplace!
Absolutely. The last 12 months have been eye-opening in terms of the power of technology. We’ve been talking about encouraging women to work in tech. Why do you think that’s important?
We know that technical innovation will play a crucial role in almost every sector of our country’s economy, especially in light of Covid-19 recovery. Although progress over the years has been made, gender inequality in the STEM sector still needs to be addressed.
I was shocked to learn that only 5% of leadership positions in technology companies are held by women, showing that females remain significantly underrepresented in the workforce.
At Weston College we want to champion female tech voices and nurture diverse talent. It is important that we are identifying positive role models for our learners and aim to be a part of driving positive change in the sector and region.
Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more. Do you have any advice for women working in tech?
I think it’s really important that women feel fully supported within their industry and so I would suggest connecting with others via networking groups.
The tech sector is evolving all the time so forums and digital hubs are a great way to keep on top of trends and put you in a great position to forecast the ‘hype curves’. Through recent conversations I have learnt about so many regional, national and global organisations where women are willing to share good practice and provide mentorship opportunities.
The Women’s Tech Hub, founded by Serrie Chapman created a particularly brilliant initiative called ‘Girl Geek Dinners’, a community space for women (and men) in the technology sector to meet and support one another. Events and workshops are a fantastic way to share, create and collaborate with other tech leaders.
Thank you, Anna. That’s great advice. And thank you for taking the time to talk to me.
Women of Tech 