Hear from Caroline Mbagaya about how her essential digital skills training has hugely benefitted her at work and at home.
“I started at Lloyds as a customer service adviser, on the telephone, answering queries. I then trained to be a mortgage adviser, but at the back of my mind I always wanted to go into the digital world.
“I have a biochemistry degree, and I did a Masters in public health. A lot of it involved analysing data, which I really enjoyed. I did try to apply for roles at the bank that used my skills, but there was always a gap. I had no real digital skills, and I knew I had to change this.
“When I was working on a mortgage application one day, I saw an advert from Lloyds about it looking to reskill people to go into digital engineering.
“I thought this might be the perfect opportunity for me, so I quickly put in an application. I got selected and joined a bootcamp for 12 weeks. I was pretty much trained in every basic digital skill.
“Thanks to my reskilling, I’m earning more, which is really helping with the cost of living.”
“After the training, it felt like a new world had been opened up to me. First of all, I joined a team whose responsibilities include running servers and managing some of Lloyds’ websites and portals.
“Then, I saw a role that had a lot more to do with data and successfully applied for that. Waking up each morning and doing a job you love is a great feeling.
“Thanks to my reskilling, I’m earning more, which is really helping with the cost of living. I feel like I’m utilising my knowledge and skills more.
“And things I’ve learnt at work are benefiting me in my daily life. Now, I’m more aware of and confident at managing my passwords. And with the children, when they’re on their iPads, I can offer more guidance to keep them and our family safe.”
Caroline Mbagaya, works in Data and Machine Learning at Lloyds Banking Group.
Caroline’s story first appeared in ‘The UK workforce digital skills gap: Why closing it matters and a roadmap for action’.
Lloyds Banking Group are a signatory of the Workforce Digital Skills Charter, committing to concerted and focused collective action to close the essential digital skills gap in the UK workforce. Find out more and join them here.
