Incubator tenant, Cut The Mustard, leverages fully funded* micro-credentials to upskill and innovate.
Company Overview
Cut The Mustard Digital is a leading digital transformation agency located in the Staffordshire University Innovation Enterprise Zone Incubator.
The Incubator provides office spaces of all sizes with access to academic expertise, specialist equipment, training courses, business mentors, and more for tenant companies.
Funded Business Support
Ajay Kapadia, Managing Director of Cut The Mustard Digital, explains that the company was approached by Staffordshire University to participate in short courses. As a tenant of the University's Incubator, the sign-up process was easy for Cut The Mustard to access these continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities. Moreover, the courses were delivered through online learning, enabling access from anywhere.
The courses are offered through the Staffordshire E-Skills & Entrepreneurship Gateway (SEGway) project, part-funded by the European Social Fund, which provides training and upskilling for local businesses, students and graduates.
Philip O'Neill, Staffordshire University's Business Development Manager, explains that short courses, masterclasses and micro-credentials allow businesses to invest in their staff and upskill their workforce. He says the university works closely with businesses through roundtable discussions and employer feedback to ensure the course content meets business needs and helps improve their offerings.
Software developers Sultan Kazi and Syed Nabeel took CPD courses in Data Analytics offered through the project. Sultan found the Data Analytics course helped improve his skills to aid his day-to-day work with clients. Syed gained beneficial skills to enhance his work by thinking outside the box.
Both developers said the short course was incredibly informative and the newly gained knowledge helped Cut The Mustard innovate and stay at the forefront of technology.
Project Outcomes
Since becoming a tenant and accessing CPD opportunities, Cut The Mustard has doubled its workforce and client base. Ajay Kapadia highly recommends the University's CPD courses, calling them an invaluable opportunity to gain skills not readily available in-house.
*The Staffordshire E-Skills & Entrepreneurship Gateway (SEGway) programme is part funded by the European Social Fund.
I would recommend that any company who wants to improve their technology and wants to improve their innovation really seriously considers these courses. We found them invaluable!