Hiscox's Strategic use of the Levy
In recent years, the Apprenticeship Levy has become an important tool for HR and L&D teams to invest in their workforce's development, particularly in data skills. Jason Bell tells us about strategically harnessing it's potential at Hiscox.
"There is definitely a gap and an opportunity for us to change that and change the perception of apprenticeships within the business"
Jason Bell, the Head of Learning and Development at Hiscox, oversees the company's learning and development initiatives, including its apprenticeship and work-based learning programme.
Jason has a wealth of experience in this field, having previously worked in similar roles at other organisations.
When asked about the rationale behind implementing the apprenticeship programme at Hiscox, Jason highlighted the company's desire to create a robust learning experience for its employees. The strategic use of the Apprenticeship Levy was seen as an opportunity to enhance learning and development within the organisation.
Historically, the Apprenticeship Levy had not been fully utilised at Hiscox, and there was room for improvement in how it could benefit the company. Jason recognized this as a gap and an opportunity to change the perception of learning and apprenticeships within the business:
"The apprenticeship levy probably hasn't been utilised to the best of its ability within Hiscox historically, so there is definitely a gap and an opportunity there for us to change that and change the perception of apprenticeships within the business."
“Hiscox most definitely has a heightened focus on data skills right now and over the next few years. We need to understand - how do we own data? How do we consistently utilise and work with data? How do we tell a story with data? How do we ensure we’ve got strong data governance? All these things are incredibly important to most businesses. But for us at Hiscox, there's certainly a heightened focus on imparting that knowledge with our people and increasing people's skills and experience in that area.”
Jason Bell, Head of Learning and Development
Data as a Strategic Priority
One of the driving forces behind Hiscox's decision to implement the apprenticeship programme was the importance of data literacy. In today's data-driven business landscape, having employees with strong data skills is crucial. The company saw the apprenticeship programme as a way to equip its workforce with the knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed to leverage data effectively.
“Hiscox most definitely has a heightened focus on data skills right now and over the next few years. We need to understand - how do we own data? How do we consistently utilise and work with data? How do we tell a story with data? How do we ensure we’ve got really great data governance.? All these things are incredibly important to most businesses. But for us at Hiscox, there's certainly a heightened focus on imparting that knowledge with our people and increasing people's skills and experience in that area.”
Immediate Impact and Future Prospects
Although the programme was launched only five months ago, Hiscox has already seen significant positive impacts. Over 30 employees from various teams participated in the Level 3 and Level 4 qualification courses, fostering collaboration, networking, and knowledge sharing across the organisation.
The feedback from learners and their managers has been promising. Individuals have reported applying their newly acquired skills in practical scenarios, particularly in areas like data analysis using tools like Power BI and Excel.
Jason Bell said: "We've had some really good feedback come through from employees and line managers. For example, people talking about their use of Power BI, how they’ve been able to use it in their workplace to tell stories with the data and really build on their existing data sheets and spreadsheets. We have people talking about their opportunities to learn around Excel and using pivot tables to help support the usage of data. It's all really good stuff, it's really positive.”
