How Rolls-Royce 100x'd the speed of engineering design processes with DataCamp

The challenge: automate manual processes and increase engineer capacity

Rolls-Royce is always looking for new ways to increase its ability to analyze data more quickly to improve performance. The civil aerospace business unit uses data every day to track its engines by monitoring atmospheric contaminants and performance data, thus maintaining its competitive advantage.

The Civil Aerospace Digital Capability team not only develops software, tools, and processes to improve operations at Rolls-Royce but they’re also helping people throughout the organization, at different knowledge levels, become more familiar with these technologies.

Manual data handling processes for Rolls-Royce were not moving fast enough to keep up with their demands. Individuals were trying to learn new skills on their own to help solve the problem, but there was a lack of clarity about what they should be learning and how those skills translated into real solutions.

As a result, the company continued relying on manual processes that slowed the team down without a centralized training program.

The challenge was further complicated by the wide range of digital technologies available. There was no easy way to navigate the options and determine what employees should learn. Without clear training for the whole team—or a straightforward way of building products—individuals were left to learn independently, which slowed progress.

The solution: role-based upskilling for technical and non-technical teams

Rolls-Royce partnered with DataCamp to create custom learning tracks tailored to each role within the organization—including a Python upskilling program for engineers and Power BI and data literacy tracks for non-technical employees.

Rolls-Royce needed a solution that worked around employees’ existing schedules. The company decided to block off time each week for learning and make training part of employees’ work schedules. This endorsement from senior leadership increased participation and helped the organization gain traction toward its goals.

DataCamp’s accessibility on any internet-enabled device also gave employees the flexibility to learn either in the office or remotely.

The result: measurable productivity gains

Rolls-Royce was not only able to use DataCamp’s courses to 100x the speed of their data-handling processes, but they were also able to customize the platform to fit their needs.

The program worked so well that improved internal systems and processes are now used as a recruitment advantage. Being able to quickly level up potential team members’ skills gives Rolls-Royce a competitive edge when hiring.

The team plans to continue expanding their use of DataCamp to accelerate additional internal processes.