AXA invests in new data academy to improve customer experience

AXA UK is investing over £800,000 in a data academy to upskill its workforce, support decision making and enhance customer outcomes. Currently, 54 employees are enrolled in a data analytics apprenticeship delivered by professional learning academy Avado.

Showcased during National Apprenticeship Week (8 to 14 February), whose theme this year is ‘Build the Future’, this initiative supports AXA UK’s digital transformation into a more insight-led organisation.

As smart technologies, wearables, cellular networks and other innovations provide ever richer sources of information, insurers can leverage data to predict customer usage and demand for their services. As such, building a comprehensive data strategy will not only deliver operational efficiencies but also enhance customer journeys. That is why this apprenticeship programme places data skills at the heart of AXA UK’s learning and development framework.

This is the first data academy spanning all divisions of an insurance business: colleagues from underwriting to claims, to human resources, finance, risk and compliance are enrolled in the 18-month programme.

Funded by the Apprenticeship Levy, the scheme is designed for AXA employees who haven’t previously received formal training in data analytics but can leverage these techniques to transform the way they perform their role. Combining virtual sessions, online study and individual work-based projects, the programme takes up 20% of the participants’ working time. The training’s core topics include:

1. The data landscape
2. Data preparation and essentials
3. Data analysis programming and visualisation
4. Advanced analysis and key concepts
5. Data lifecycle and Big Data
6. Customer centricity
7. Innovation and ways of working
8. Business strategy and planning
9. Communication and influence

A specificity of the programme is that students are given real-life data sets to manipulate and real-life challenges to solve. This builds their confidence to use new skills in their current and future roles. Upon completing this Level 4 apprenticeship in Spring 2022, they will obtain a British Computer Society (BCS) Diploma in Data Analysis Concepts and Certificate in Data Analyst Tools.

“As an insurer, we have been leveraging data for a while, from underwriting to claims analytics. We know how crucial these skills are, and we are thrilled to be expanding them throughout the business so colleagues in various functions will be able to leverage data insights to support our customer relationships.” [Shali Vasudeva, Chief Operating Officer, AXA UK & Ireland]

 “Having led a number of large financial services businesses, I appreciate the challenges of becoming a data-driven organisation, but also the massive opportunities presented to those bold enough to take that step. Avado is a world leader in helping organisations build a digital and data-driven culture and we are incredibly proud of our data academy partnership with AXA UK.” [Rob Devey, Chairman, Avado]