IN4 launches new skills programme into Blackburn and Darwen schools

Blackburn with Darwen Council is partnering with IN4 to establish a new programme that will nurture over 600 pupils and mentor 50 scholarship students each year across the borough to secure the best digital technology careers.

Every secondary school in the borough is able to take part in the pioneering technology educational enrichment and scholarships programme.

‘MEGA (motivated, educated generation with ambition) Hub’ builds on the success of IN4’s major North West and West Midlands CyberFirst contracts with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ. 

Blackburn with Darwen Council, IN4 Group and its partners IBM, Northrop Grumman, KPMG UK, QinetiQ, CGI, Roke, and BT are committing more than £300,000 per annum into the MEGA Hub, with a plan to increase the investment in the coming years.

Mo Isap, IN4 Group CEO, said: "It’s a moment of great pride that I have the ability to further invest in my hometown, specifically to support our talented young people who have the potential to be great but due to disadvantage, deprivation and discrimination end up being average at best. 

“We grew up not knowing we had started life in the second-class carriage. My aim is to ensure all our young people belong in the first-class carriage of the technology express, which will take them to incredible destinations and, in doing so, make our borough great again in the 4th Industrial Revolution as it was in the 1st one.   

“This will lay the foundations for the MEGA Hub model as we aim to nurture and unlock talent in our local authority regions through collaboration and co-investment across public and private sector partnerships.”

The CyberFirst and MEGA Hub programmes link closely to the government’s investment of more than £5bn in its new National Cyber Force in neighbouring Samlesbury and will help meet the need for a highly skilled digital workforce in the emerging North West Cyber Corridor.

Coun Phil Riley, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “As a council, we are absolutely committed to the notion that no one in our borough should be left behind, and this is a shining example of that.

“We are determined to inspire our young people – we want to show them the opportunities that are available and make sure they have the skills to give them the very best chance to succeed in life.

“We want to help open their eyes to the different careers available in digital and technology, especially with the re-location of the National Cyber Force to Salmesbury.

“The CyberFirst programme has already seen incredible results, and we’re really pleased to have been able to work closely with Mo and his fantastic team to bring this first-of-its-kind pilot to Blackburn with Darwen with investment for businesses to follow, too."

The MEGA hub incorporates a KS3 and KS4 technology enrichment programme that operates as an extension to the school timetable. The programme combines CyberFirst, Esports Academy, Play AI, and IBM Skills Build with hackathons, competitions, entrepreneurship, and tech careers education.