AS NATIONAL Apprenticeship Week continues this week, Cortex Worldwide, the digital technology company whose client base includes Microsoft Education, has attributed an important part of its success to date to its apprenticeship initiative. CEO and Founder Peter Proud says: “Starting an apprenticeship scheme is one of the best things we did after starting the company.”
Cortex has 7 apprentices in its overall headcount of 35. The company’s apprenticeship programme blends academic and vocational training, enabling the company to recruit, train, up-skill and retain employees within the digital technologies industry. Cortex is a signatory to both the Microsoft Partner Pledge and Tech Talent Charter, which together promote digital skills, apprenticeships and diversity.
Peter Proud added: “Our apprentices have become integral to everything we do at Cortex, that’s how important they are to our business. We want to create the best possible work environment for all of our people and that has been built into our DNA from day one. Not only are we building a market-leading product, we’re also building the right values and culture and that’s equally important to us.”
Cortex won SME Apprentice Employer of the Year at the 2018 Scottish Apprenticeship Awards and, this year, is the only Scottish company to have made the shortlist for the National Technology Awards where Cortex is nominated in the Tech Company of the Year, Cloud Product of the Year and Best Tech Place to Work categories.
Cortex marked its 5th year in business in 2019 by recording double-digit revenue growth and upping headcount to 35 at its headquarters in Edinburgh. Cortex counts a number of large UK and international enterprise clients among its customer base and is set to announce a series of new business wins, including one of the UK’s leading banks, and high-profile board appointments during the first half of 2020.
Founded in 2014, Cortex Worldwide has developed a cloud-based web management content (WCM) platform that enables clients to create, deploy, analyse and optimise their digital estates. Cortex, which secured a management buyout from WPP plc in 2017, is led by CEO and Founder Peter Proud, formerly a senior executive at Accenture and Microsoft, and the company’s board includes John Waddell, former CEO of Scottish angel investment group Archangels.
Cortex became carbon neutral in 2019 following an extensive exercise that involved changing suppliers, offsetting emissions and implementing waste management processes.
