I’m thrilled to announce the newest member of Harnham Group: Rockborne. It’s been 15 years since we first started Harnham and over that time we’ve seen the Data & Analytics industry go from strength to strength and become one of the world’s most sought-after specialisms. While innovation and progress have allowed the industry to flourish, it’s been clear for a while now that the biggest threat to its continued success is a shortage of talent and, in particular, technical talent that can thrive in a business environment. As highlighted in our recently published Data & Analytics Salary Guide, half of all data leaders believe that the junior members of their teams don’t have the ability to articulate their work to non-technical stakeholders. Furthermore, they also believe that there is a significant need for those coming into the industry to learn how to better articulate their work and findings, improve their communication skills and to develop a better understanding of the nature the businesses that they work in. To help counter this, we have created Rockborne, a new business designed specifically to train and place the next generation of Data & Analytics professionals into our clients’ businesses. Rockborne will take on regular cohorts of diverse, highly-skilled and exceptionally promising STEM graduates and put them through an intensive 16-week training program designed to ensure that they not only have the most up to date technical knowledge, but also the business acumen and softer skills required to thrive in their careers. They will then be placed as Consultants in leading data teams across the country for two years, at which point their current employer will have the choice to keep them on permanently at no additional cost. The consultants will also have the opportunity to undertake three weeks of training, prior to their placement, tailored to the business they are entering so that they are fully prepared to hit the ground running and add value. To lead this new venture for the Harnham Group, we have put together an industry-leading team with Neil Berry as CEO. Neil brings a long career of experience in the Data & Analytics market, working across multiple sectors and industries delivering transformational change. His experience at several of the world’s foremost Data & Analytics consultancies, including most recently as a partner at both KPMG and IBM, makes him the ideal person to lead Rockborne’s senior management team. He’ll be working alongside former dunnhumby, Experian, Accenture and IBM’er Gareth Mitchell-Jones who joins us as Chief Revenue Officer; Waseem Ali, formerly of Virgin Care, General Assembly, Cloudstream Partners and Lloyd’s of London, as Chief Data Officer; and former Barclays, JP Morgan and Jane Street campus lead Amy Foster, who will serve as Rockborne’s Chief Talent Officer. We believe that this team enables us to really address the issues within the industry, and allow the Graduate Consultants they produce to be set for success. As the next part of our journey, Rockborne is set to continue the mission already pursued by our other Harnham Group companies; to help the world of Data & Analytics innovate and flourish, to provide opportunities for those who work in the industry to thrive, and to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce. You can learn more about Rockborne here or by contacting one of the team at neilberry@rockborne.com, garethmj@rockborne.com, waseemali@rockborne.com, or amyfoster@rockborne.com.