Al MorrisTransformation Lead, This is Milk Increasingly we are seeing and hearing that digital facilitators do not have the right skills in organisations to do the job both now and in the future.
So in typical This is Milk fashion we did something about it and created the Digital Transformation Programme, shortlisted for a BIMA innovation award 2018.
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In June 2018 we began the first ever training sessions of the This is Milk Digital Transformation ProgrammeThe This is Milk Digital Transformation Programme is a 12 month career development programme designed to teach the skills needed to succeed in digital projects, whilst allowing the opportunity to develop those skills during live projects.
This programme has been created to tackle the prominent skills shortage for project professionals working in the digital projects industry in Scotland. Students on the programme are supported by This is Milk, industry professionals, corporate partners, our alumni community and a dedicated mentor to maximise their learning throughout the 12 months. Having the confidence to acknowledge skills or subject weakness and turn them into strengths is just one way that a current Digital Transformation Programme student managed to land their new dream job. Words from a current Digital Transformation Programme student“After only 2 weeks in the programme I had started to ask myself, what are the things that I’m scared of and why am I avoiding these things?
The DTP helped to shine a light on the elements of my mindset that I wasn’t facing up to. The early on Personal Branding & Intrapreneurship workshops made me look at situations in my life and ask questions. I wrote down what I wanted to work on and took the time at home to build resilience to the negative aspects of my career. I realised that I was not the only one who didn’t know everything, I didn’t have to avoid situations. I could be assertive and directly change how I dealt with these situations. This change in attitude has been incredible. Jobs that I wouldn’t normally have applied for, I was confident to take on. My new-found resilience and mindset have made me stronger when it comes to the interview process also. I walked in feeling strong and confident. Any areas of weakness in my skill set or experience, I was able to counter with my ability to go and learn. The programme has proven that I can learn new skills and build on these at home, any weaknesses have become strengths and I was judged on my ability as a person. I am now in a dream job that 4 months ago I would never have applied for. I’m feeling confident about myself, confident in my ability to do the job and less worried about any gaps in skillset that may arise over the coming months, even years. A lack of something is no longer a weakness for me.” With just days to go, here's a taster of what to expect on Friday, from our final speaker Michael Hayes, of Add Jam. 1. Who are you and what brings you to the Milk Bar meetup?
I’m Michael Hayes, founder of Add Jam. We’re an open, friendly and experts at turning ideas into products on iOS, Android and the Web. We’re based in the RookieOven coworking space at the heart of the Glasgow tech community. This is Milk are our neighbours in Govan, and we're keen to support anything that promotes collaboration in the Scottish business community. Al Morris Transformation Lead, This is Milk What we learned at the 'Jobs of the future' MilkBar event, March 2018.If one thing was learned from our #MilkBar event last week, it’s that STEM, should really be STEAM. With the 'A' representing the arts!
We are living in the 'Age of Information', a period of time that is characterised by the shift from industrial production to one based on information and computerisation (Wikipedia). Nearly all business's are digital, or at least partly digital. So as time progresses how is this computerisation impacting Business and the roles/skills of the workers? Bringing together some of the top minds in Scottish Digital Transformation, This is Milk held the first #MilkBar of 2018 at Tontine Glasgow on the 16th of March. An event created to educate & discuss the topic 'Jobs of the Future'. Al MorrisTransformation Lead
Today (08/03/18) is International Women's Day, and to mark the occasion, our Managing Director Angela did a Facebook live video to discuss the This is Milk brand, where the colours came from, and why we won't be removing the colour Pink from our brand colours.
What's in a colour?
Way back at the start of This is Milk our founders sat down with the task of choosing the colours that would represent our brand in a traditionally corporate landscape of blues, greys, blacks...dull... boring... yawn .. .. .. .. .. .. sorry, we nodded off for a second there! Now come on, why does corporate have to mean boring?
Well it doesn't and we relished at the opportunity to buck the trend, stand out, and more importantly create a brand that represents who we were as people as well as professionals. Why does corporate have to mean boring?
Creating the This is Milk brand was both painstaking and liberating, allowing us to build a brand that the whole team could get behind, be a part of and be proud of. It stands for progressiveness, empowerment and a vision to bring a new age of consultancy to the Scottish market.
but... there are some people that just don't like us using the colour PINK! It's too feminine, it's too delicate, it's not a colour that the corporate world wants to associate with.
Well this is exactly what Angela has to say about that!
From Angela:
"I would love for you to have a watch, share, discuss this topic, and even come talk to me! Let's all work towards a world where we're human - whatever that means to you." The science behind the colour
If you would like to dive deeper into the world of colour, here is a fantastic blog taking you through the psychological meaning of the colour Pink.
It's a colour of compassion, understanding and insight. It's empathetic and hopeful. It is a positive colour inspiring warm and comforting feelings and a sense that everything will be okay. Sounds exactly like This is Milk! International Women's Day
"Now, more than ever, there's a strong call-to-action to press forward and progress gender parity. There's a strong call to #PressforProgress motivating and uniting friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive."
International Women's Day is a call to arms for accelerating gender parity. The campaign this year is asking you to take action and Press for progress in the world of business. By committing to a gender parity mindset we can accelerate change and empower equality across the world.
This is Milk are proud to lead the way in gender parity, with a business that treats everyone as equals, as humans and will continue to strive for change in the workplace.
For more on This is Milk and the above topic we recommend you check out these two blogs: Raising a baby and a business How to kick-start your dream business How to build a string brand strategy Thanks for reading and be sure to comment or even share.
(Blog first published 08/03/2018)
Al MorrisTransformation Lead Angela Speaks to the Girl Geek Scotland community about 'This is Milk' & the digital skills gap. Last week our Managing Director Angela spoke at a Girl Geek Scotland event in Edinburgh. For those of you who have not came across them yet, Girl Geek Scotland is a network and community for people working and studying in creativity, computing, enterprise and related sectors in Scotland. It provides a fantastic platform for the team at 'This is Milk' to not only learn from our peers but to also inspire them when and where we can.
Like all GGS events, this one had a fantastic turnout and it was great to be involved . We want to say a huge thank you to the team at GGS for inviting us, as well giving massive props to all the other speakers/panellists who where there on the night, including: Al MorrisTransformation Lead As we come to the end of January 2018, we feel the need to take a step back to Jan 2017 and have another look at the ‘Future of Jobs report’ by the World Economic Forum. This detailed report looked into the future of industry to identify the new categories of jobs that are emerging, as well as the skill-sets that are becoming more essential to these roles. The Future of Jobs Report aims to unpack and provide specific information on the relative magnitude of these trends by industry and geography, and on the expected time horizon for their impact to be felt on job functions, employment levels and skills - The World Economic Forum Al MorrisTransformation Lead In this final installation of Digital Launchpad - Tackling the digital skills gap, we have a look at this new job role of a Customer Analyst. If you have no idea what we are talking about then please do read blog posts 1 & 2. Or hey, just go rogue and see what happens. You can always go back after. Digital Launchpad - Tackling the digital skills gap - Part 1 Digital Launchpad - Tackling the digital skills gap - Part 2 All caught up, excellent, now in the words of Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka, "Off we go" Imagine yourself at a busy business event/networking/conference/meeting/shop to buy your groceries when you meet somebody who asks you what you do.
Natural you say: "Hi I'm (Fill the Blank) and I'm a Customer Analyst!" Which will no doubt be met with the response of: "aw excellent, sorry what is that exactly?" Al MorrisTransformation Lead Following on from Tackling the digital projects skills gap - part 1 blog, this 2nd edition looks to show you what This is Milk are doing to resolve this issue. If you haven't read the first blog yet, do so now and we will see you in a minute. Doing what we do best So we now know that there is a massive skills gap in Scotland, for professionals that are equipped with the skills needed to understand and research customer needs, taking those right the way through the project, from end to end.
This is Milk have been exploring ways to create a talent pipeline around these digital project skills. Our solution is to create a job that does not currently exist. At the moment we're calling this A Customer Analyst - however the name is still up for grabs. A Customer Analyst has the full understanding and skills needed to cradle a digital project from it's initial conception all the way through to project delivery. It takes the vital skills of business analysis, user research, strategy, service design and project/product management and amalgamates into a role that will change the way digital projects are delivered forever. Al MorrisTransformation Lead There is a distinct lack of skilled project professionals that have the skills and ability to handle digital projects. It's a staggering statement to make but unfortunately a very true one.
All is not lost however, there are some digital masterminds and yes they are very good, but the small numbers result in high costs and big demand. This is great for the person, not so good for the businesses in vital need of their services. Now we know what you are thinking, Scotland is an ever-growing digital force, with thousands of graduates leaving university every year. We have a booming tech, financial, start-up and public sector market. So how can there be a lack of skills and what are we doing about solving this issue? Well there’s 2 problems here…. The industry is growing, but the right talent just isn’t there in the digital project space. We've got another great line-up of speakers for our upcoming Milk Bar on 1st December, covering 'Generation Games'. Here is a quick look at our first speaker Paul Harvey and some words about his upcoming talk!
With just over a week until our next Milk Bar event on Friday 1 December, we'd like to introduce you to the speakers we've got lined up to talk on the topic of Generation Games. Here is a sneak peak from our speaker Robin Huggins of MBN Solutions.
Barbara GeczyCustomer Analyst, This is Milk We would like to share with you what our incredible journey has taught us over the past years and to consider how these business lessons could benefit our audience. Whether you’re new to the world of business or have been in the game for years, we dare say the following lessons will hold true: ●Know your brand inside out – and don’t be afraid to be different.
When This is Milk was conceived, we started by defining our brand. We knew that our name would stand out from the crowd for example and prove a conversation starter. How right we were. If you’re curious as to the thought process behind the moniker, you can read about the branding exercise here. ●Treat your brand with the same importance as a major client Even if you’re overwhelmed with client work, never forget to focus on your brand and to share what’s going on with your company. Don’t neglect your business – look after it and it will look after you. Barbara GeczyCustomer Analyst,This is Milk Sometimes it’s healthy to take time out to reflect on your own achievements, for to quote Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Once upon a time, two women came together with a shared idea. Looking around, Angela Prentner-Smith didn’t see anyone else in Scotland offering a business transformation service, so she decided to step up and give it a go.
That once upon a time took place just a few years ago and in the subsequent months, a lot has happened. The idea has taken seed and that seed has grown into a business development agency called This is Milk. Two and a half years and 20 clients later, we’ve surpassed milestones that we could previously only have dreamed of – and this is just the beginning. One year ago, it was only last summer, I decided to come to Scotland to pursue my Master’s Degree in Marketing at the University of Aberdeen.
My background was merely related with research, having worked in a variety of different social research projects while studying sociology and working in National Centre for Social Research in Greece. Market research first came to my life during the year I spent in Poland as an exchange student, where I had the opportunity to work on a consumer behaviour project. Although I also held positions before and after Poland that research was not included in my main tasks, I was always keen on bringing research and its insights as the key to moving forward! Project-Focused but People-Centric: Why Project Managers Need to Stay Human in a Digital Age7/19/2017 Steven MarshallWhile digital tools and techniques go some way to making life easier for project managers they'll never be the answer to a project's success.If it weren’t for people, projects would be easy. Have you ever heard a project manager say that? You may well have done. But isn't digital making life easier for these hard done by PM's?
It's true that the tools and techniques in a project manager's arsenal are becoming more refined and sophisticated. Digital developments continue to provide ever-improving tools for planning, budgeting, monitoring and controlling. All things that are close to project managers’ hearts, who use these tools to calculate variances, smooth out resources, define the critical path, forecast cash flows – all at the click of a mouse. They can automate plans, track budgets and produce detailed reports, all of which can be shared around the world in an instant. Certainly, a project manager's job should be much easier than it was back in the days when you used to go to a computer room if you ever wanted to use a computer. Can anyone remember that? We're recruiting for a Customer Analyst to join Team TiM here in Glasgow! It's a full-time maternity cover with the possibility of going permanent - flexible start date and flexible working hours.
So what's the role about? Well, every one of our team shares the ability to look at a business from a customer's perspective, turning that insight into strategies (and action!) to improve that business. This can cover lots of areas including branding, business planning, customer experience, marketing, process improvements... So the types of jobs you'd be doing are things like trends and data analysis, customer research, campaign creation, communications, defining content strategies and managing digital channels including websites to name a few! The countdown is on...less than two weeks to go until the next Milk Bar! On Monday 19 May, we'll be tackling the subject of machines vs humans and their influence on the world of work. Here is a sneak peek from our speakers Emma Reid and Cathy Donald of Ergo Law Emma and Cathy are both solicitors specialising in employment law and established Ergo Law, a niche employment law practice, 18 months ago. When they established Ergo Law it was important to them to stand out from the crowd. They seek to do this by appealing to clients in a manner which is approachable, personal and very human, which makes their tone of voice quite different from many of the larger traditional law firms. Denis YordanovDigital Intern, This is Milk
In the fifth of our 'On the Horizon' articles - a series of posts exploring future business and society trends - we explore Quantum Computing and the potential impact on business and society.
The foundation of computing.
Throughout the 'On the Horizon' series so far, we have looked at various technologies and innovations that can have a profound impact on business and society. There is one thread that runs through the four topics mentioned so far (self-driving cars, blockchain, industry 4.0, and AI) that serves as the foundation for those innovation, without which they would have been impossible, and that is computing. Computers have arguably shaped and reshaped our way of life in the last 20 years more than anything else has in that period of time. They are at the core of so many aspects of our lives that listing them will be pointless. Given the direction of development it stands to reason that the role computers play in our lives will continue to grow in the future. It's all possible because of computing.
By: Nicky Logue A strong brand strategy lets you influence how your company is perceived in the outside world. New businesses who spend the time crafting their brand strategy from the outset have a distinct advantage over the rest. What is 'Brand'?Starting a new business is exciting; there’s no doubt about it. But it’s easy to get carried away with the ‘rush to market’ and lots of businesses miss out on valuable time spent at the outset developing a solid brand strategy. And by that I don’t just mean the visual representation of brand, such as your logo, and the colours you use on your website. Your brand identity is much more than that. Here's one of my favourite answers to the question 'What is brand?':
Denis YordanovDigital Intern, This is Milk
In the fourth of our 'On the Horizon' articles - a series of posts exploring future business and society trends - we investigate Artificial Intelligence and the possible implications for business and people.
The power of the human brain.
One of the most sophisticated structures that humanity has at its disposal - if not THE most sophisticated one - is the human brain. The computational power and decision-making capabilities of the human brain haven't been matched by neither other life forms nor by machines. So far. Recent technological advances should make us wonder if this will be the case for much longer. One of those advances that really stands out and is becoming ever more popular is Artificial Intelligence (AI). And for good reason. AI has the potential to be the apex technology of our age. The future opportunities it can bring to business and society to significantly disrupt the status quo and change our lives are exciting and perhaps a bit scary.
The term 'Artificial Intelligence' has become quite mainstream in the last few years but the concept of AI is older and goes back a few decades. At its core, Artificial Intelligence can be described as the ability of machines to exhibit intelligence and to undertake cognitive tasks usually associated with the human brain, such as learning, problem-solving and decision-making. Even though Artificial Intelligence has been around for a while, we have begun to tap into the power of AI only recently. Better algorithms that allow computers to learn from available data without being explicitly programmed to do so (Machine Learning), Big Data, and increased computational power are just some of the recent technological advances that have facilitated the rapid spread of AI. Denis YordanovDigital Intern, This is Milk In the third 'On the Horizon' blog post, a series of posts exploring future business and society trends, we explore the concept of Industry 4.0, also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and what lies beyond. The fourth industrial revolution.The great thing about history is that we can trace the development of the world as we know it, and in particular business and manufacturing, to several important periods of technological and social transition - the industrial revolutions. There is an argument to be made that so far there have been three major industrial revolutions, the impact of which can be clearly identified, not only in the West, but globally. The First Industrial Revolution involved the use of steam power to mechanise much of the manual production at the time. The Second Industrial Revolution was powered by electricity and through division of labour created mass production (think Henry Ford). The Third, and most recent one, Industrial Revolution started in the 1960s with electronics, information technologies, computers and the internet. Its outcomes have become an integral and irreplaceable part of our lives. However, we might be on the brink of a Fourth Industrial Revolution, an Industry 4.0, which is based on the Third but has the potential to reshape our reality even more drastically.
We've got another great line-up of speakers for our upcoming Milk Bar on May 19th at Grant Thornton, covering 'Disrupting Professional Services - Human vs. Machine'. Here is a quick look at our first speaker Matthew Higgs and some words about his upcoming talk.
It’s Milk Bar week! This Friday we deep dig into the world of Virtual and Augmented Reality. Last but not least, let us introduce you our speaker Mark Baxter, the co-fouder of Digitalnauts, a company focusing on identifying new and innovative ways to deliver learning.
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