Annette Sweeney will head the academy which, since 1 May, has been housed in the Government Digital Service

The newly formed GDS Academy aims to offer training in digital services to more than 3,000 civil servants a year.

The academy has grown out of the Digital Academy that previously sat within the Department for Work and Pensions. Late last year the government decided to roll out the initiative across the wider civil service and, from 1 May, the academy was rehoused in the Government Digital Service and renamed accordingly.

The programme is now looking for enrollees for its 10 courses: agile for teams; digital and agile awareness; digital and agile awareness for policy makers; digital and agile awareness for analysts; digital and agile foundation course; hands-on agile for leaders; service managers; working level for business analysts; working level for delivery managers; working level for product managers.

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Training will be held in London, Stockport, Leeds, Newcastle and, during September, at a pop-up centre in Edinburgh. The academy aims to help digital professionals move up the career ladder, as well as support those in other job functions transition into technology- or data-based roles.

More courses and locations – both permanent and pop-up – will be added in the coming months. The current goal is to get at least 3,000 civil servants through the door each year. Annette Sweeney (pictured) will serve as the academy’s head.

“We’ve embarked on a discovery phase to involve specialist communities, government departments, agencies, academia and expert providers,” she said. “We want to make sure user needs are met and we want to prioritise the skills we need to develop within the civil service as we shape the future curriculum."