2017 · Field note · 2014–2017
A route into data work that does not start at a university gate
Charity programmes in these years turned toward young people in underserved areas, with a structured path and a certificate a hiring manager could read.
The compliment we did not want was “potential”. Potential does not pay rent. A young person who can clean an export, group the rows the question cares about, and write the caveat deserves a document that says so.
We placed the programmes in community settings, with tutors who already knew the neighbourhood, and we kept the exam the same exam everyone else would take. A softer paper for a harder start would have insulted the candidate and confused the employer.
Some of those candidates later took Data Analyst (Applied). Many stopped, quite reasonably, at Practitioner and went to work. Both outcomes are a success of the pathway. Stackable does not mean compulsory.
This remains one of the uses of the fee. A portion of every certification payment funds the seats that are free.