Professionals looking for data science training can find it difficult to find the right course
Whether you are an employer or an employee, it can be difficult to judge the worth of a professional development course. Is the programme respected by professionals in your field? Has it been designed by people with real expertise? Will it provide practical training that can be put into action in your everyday work?
If you find yourself asking these questions, opting for a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) certified course might be the solution for you. Established in 1996, the CPD Certification Service is an independent accreditation centre that impartially evaluates professional development courses.
Programmes which meet their standards are awarded official CPD accreditation, which serves as a qualitative benchmark to indicate that the course content is substantive and relevant for working professionals.
Southampton Data Science Academy is proud that its Fundamentals of Data Science (Technical) course is officially CPD certified. Read on to find out why.
1. Professionals Know That a CPD Certified Data Science Course Provides Quality Training
Because data science is a relatively new discipline, there is no real established consensus about what a course in the subject should contain. Speaking to the Stitch Data blog in 2015, data scientist and Third Nature Inc. President Mark Madsen pointed out how difficult this can make it for professionals seeking training.
“I have mixed feelings about the university programmes,” he said. “It seems to me that they’re more designed to capitalise on the fact that the demand is out there than they are in producing good data scientists. Often, they’re doing it by creating programs that emulate what they think people need to learn.”
With a CPD Certified Data Science Course, however, this is not an issue. Programmes need to meet rigorous standards in order to receive accreditation, and all course content is independently assessed to ensure it delivers on what it promises, meaning professionals can be sure that they are receiving the best possible training in the area.
Data science training is a relatively new concept
2. CPD Certified Data Science Programmes are Professionally Focused
CPD certification doesn’t just indicate the quality of a course. It also means that the programme is professionally focused, and has been designed to provide participants with practical skills and knowledge that can be useful in their day-to-day work.
In Southampton Data Science Academy’s Fundamentals of Data Science (Technical) course, for example, professionals learn not just the theory and technical principles behind data science, but also how to practically apply it in real-world situations.
In addition, as the programme is designed in partnership with the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton, it benefits from the input of a unique network of experts across a wide range of disciplines, including computer science, statistics, economics, business, and more. This helps ensure that the course material is as versatile as possible and relevant to professionals across a broad spectrum of industries.
3. CPD Accredited Courses are Recognised Across a Range of Industries
The CPD certification service provides accreditation to over 1,000 institutions and professional bodies in the UK, which offer training in a diverse range of sectors, including finance, retail, telecommunications, and much more.
CPD certified courses are recognised in a range of desirable industries, including finance
As a result, CPD certification is universally respected by employers, trade unions, and other professional bodies in almost any industry you can think of. This means that professionals who complete a CPD certified short course can be confident that it will be recognised as proof of their new skills by employers in their sector, opening up a range of exciting possibilities for their career.