That was the challenge that Gavin Cansfield, Chair of HACT, posed to delegates at the opening of the Connecting our Business and Social Objectives with Technology event HACT convened in partnership with O2.
Hosted at Wayra, the event brought together industry experts from across the housing and digital sectors, with the aim of broadening conversations around the role of digital transformation in housing, particularly in the community investment space.
The drive to make apprenticeships accessible and desirable for young people has been phenomenal, with young apprentice ambassadors going into local schools and colleges to promote the schemes. For young people, apprenticeships offer a practical and viable way into employment, without lumbering themselves with debts associated with university.
“The social housing sector wants to deliver on digital, but many housing associations can’t because they don’t have the in-house skills,” Andrew van Doorn, Chief Executive at HACT, said. “Our digital apprenticeship scheme has been designed specifically for housing associations. It will help them to develop the in-house skills to engage with their customers through digital channels, provide them with the analytical expertise needed to make the best use of big data and, ultimately, enable them to deliver on their digital objectives.”
“Our Innovation Launch Pad showcases and accelerates the adoption of new technology in the social housing sector,” said Andrew van Doorn, Chief Executive of HACT. “This partnership with Aareon will enable us to create a pipeline of possibilities based on their technical and business expertise. It’s the missing piece in fast-tracking and embedding new technology in the sector.”
Last year Google launched with some fanfare the £1m Google “Deep Learning Neural Network” –a network of computers configured in ways which made it capable of learning and responding in ways that mimic the human brain. Rather endearingly, it chose to showcase the new machine by setting it the task of identifying videos on Youtube in which cats appeared. This week the creator of Google’s Artifical Bra
