Meet Gavin

Like so many UK workers, Gavin Hill knew he needed to bridge the gap in his skillset. After five years as a portfolio manager at Zurich Insurance, he was ready to improve his employability, and gain evidence of the skills he already had in a more formal capacity.

Gavin’s first steps towards developing his skillset

His employer, Zurich, also knew they needed to improve their peoples’ data skills. The learning and development team decided to offer Avado’s Data Analyst Apprenticeship programme, and Gavin knew it would benefit him, so he took part in the very first iteration.

In taking on the Apprenticeship, Gavin was keen to learn basic coding skills, and how to manipulate large datasets so he could deliver key insights back to his team. He was ready to become a data champion at Zurich.

Gavin’s learning journey with Avado

When Gavin began his Apprenticeship with Avado, he was faced with an unexpected challenge. The pandemic changed the way his team worked. It also made the colleagues he was hoping to learn from and the activities he had planned a lot less available to him. In spite of that, he remained focused on his goal.

Although he did still feel somewhat restricted, Gavin realised one important thing. The projects he was completing within his Apprenticeship could be easily replicated and re-run as he was able to gather more, higher-quality data.

Gavin called another project he worked on involving a text analysis one of his proudest achievements.

The Apprenticeship also gave Gavin the opportunity to network and collaborate with people around his organisation, and meet fellow data enthusiasts. Several of his colleagues helped him on his journey, and he in turn provided guidance on their projects.

How Gavin used his learnings to benefit his team, and Zurich as a whole

Just as he’d hoped, Gavin completed the Data Analyst Apprenticeship programme with the ability to advocate for the benefits of data and analytics at Zurich.

Following his Apprenticeship, Gavin did progress. He is now in a more managerial role with direct reports, three of whom are working through their Data Analyst Apprenticeships.

Gavin is keen to continue supporting them with his own learnings, too. While he began the Apprenticeship expecting to learn code, his eyes are now opened to the broader opportunities within data, and his confidence to pursue those opportunities has increased.

More expertise on his team has provided the ability to take that different approach, changing the way they look at things and the way they tackle problems. They push to use new tools and methodologies, rather than resigning to the things they don’t know.

From Zurich’s Head of Performance and Solutions

About Avado

At Avado, we believe that true transformation isn’t digital, it’s human. We build professional future skills to help diverse talent access and accelerate careers through award-winning learning experiences that deliver tangible and measurable impact. We upskill people, uplift culture and future-proof organisations in a fast-moving world.

Avado is proud to be a people-transformation partner to some of the largest and most innovative organisations in the UK including: Google, BT, NHS, British Airways, UK Civil Service, Legal & General and AstraZeneca.

To find out more, visit www.avadolearning.com