Cybersecurity and AI Insight Day

Tuesday 13 October 2026 | Barclays HQ, Manchester Limited Places Available | Free | Aged 18–30

Somebody's job is stopping the scam text that just landed on your phone. Somebody's job is keeping a bank's customers safe from people who never sleep. Somebody's job is working out what AI will break next, and fixing it first.

Those somebodies work at Barclays and Accenture. On 13 October, they want to meet you.

Join DigiLearning for one free day inside Barclays' Manchester headquarters. Meet the women and men who protect one of the UK's biggest banks, get hands-on with the tools they actually use, and find out how careers in cybersecurity and AI really start. Spoiler: almost never with a computer science degree.

This isn't a lecture. It's a day to ask the questions you've never had anyone to ask, try the work for yourself and leave knowing exactly what your next step is.

Why Cyber, Why Now

Cyber is one of the fastest-growing, best-paid and most secure careers in the UK, and it is crying out for people.

• The UK cyber workforce grew to 143,000 people in 2024 and is still short of roughly 3,800 people every year.

• Nearly half of UK businesses (49%) say they can't cover basic cyber tasks. That is a lot of employers looking for you.

• Cybersecurity analysts in the UK earn around £48,600 on average, with a typical range of £27,500 to £86,000 as your experience grows.

• The median UK cyber salary is £60,000. Security engineers sit around £65,000, security architects around £85,000, and the top 10% of roles pay over £96,000.

• Every single one of those jobs is open to people who don't code and never studied tech. A Word to the Women Reading This Only 17% of the UK's cyber workforce is female, compared with 48% of the workforce as a whole. That isn't because women aren't good at this. It's because too few have ever been invited into the room

Consider this your invitation.

At our June Insight Day, the panel was all women. The people leading Women in Cyber at Barclays are women. The person who will show you what a live scam looks like from the inside is, more than likely, a woman. You will not be the only one, and you do not need to have "always been into tech".

Everyone aged 18–30 is welcome and we mean that. We are just making a point of saying: women, we want you here.

What You'll Experience

Meet the People Who Do This for a Living Hear directly from cyber and AI professionals at Barclays and Accenture as they share:

• How they got in, and the routes that surprised them

• What a normal day actually looks like

• The moment they realised this was for them

• What they'd tell their 20-year-old self

• What the money, the progression and the flexibility are really like See the Work, Not the Slides Live demos of the tools that spot fraud, catch attacks and keep customers safe. Watch a scam get taken apart. Find out what AI is already doing inside a bank, and where the new jobs are. Discover Careers You Didn't Know Existed Cyber is far bigger than "hacking". Explore roles across:

• Security operations and threat detection

• Fraud and financial crime

• Cyber risk, governance and compliance

• Identity and access

• AI security and data protection

• Security awareness, communications and training

• Penetration testing and ethical hacking

• Product, engineering and cloud security

Get Your CV Seen A CV clinic with people who hire for these teams. Bring what you've got, even if it's rough. Leave with a version that gets read.

Professional Headshots A proper photograph for your LinkedIn, taken on the day and sent to you afterwards.

Build Your Network Time to talk, properly, with Barclays and Accenture staff and with the Women in Cyber network. Ask anything. Swap details. This is where opportunities start.

Why You Should Attend

? Explore one of the UK's best-paid and most in-demand careers ? Get inside Barclays' Manchester headquarters ? Meet the people who do the job, not people who talk about it ? Understand the real routes in, including the ones with no degree ? See live demos of the tools used to stop fraud and cyber attacks ? Get your CV reviewed by people who recruit for these roles ? Walk away with a professional headshot ? Connect with like-minded young people and a network that stays open after the day

Who Can Apply?

This opportunity is open to young people aged 18–30 who are:

• Curious about cybersecurity, AI, technology or financial services

• Looking for a career with real progression and real pay

• Wondering whether tech is "for them" (it is)

• Working, studying, between things or starting again

• From backgrounds that don't usually get a look in

No previous experience, qualifications or technical knowledge required. Just curiosity and a willingness to turn up.

Bring a mate. Nobody should have to walk in on their own. There's a space on the form to tell us who you're coming with, and we'll do our best to place you together.

Event Details

Date: Tuesday 13 October 2026 Time: [TIME TO BE CONFIRMED – full timings sent with joining instructions] Location: Barclays HQ, Manchester (exact address and travel details sent to confirmed attendees) Limited Places Available Cost: Free Hosted by: DigiLearning × Barclays × Accenture × Women in Cyber

Please Note Places are limited and demand is expected to be high. Successful applicants will receive full joining instructions, including timings and travel information, before the event. If you're selected, we ask that you commit to attending so another young person doesn't miss out. If your plans change, tell us as early as you can and we'll offer your place to someone on the waiting list.

Every person on our June panel walked into their first room not knowing anyone. Every one of them found a way in that wasn't the obvious one. Every one of them now does work that matters, and gets paid properly for it.

On 13 October, the room is in Manchester. Get in it.

To find out more information and to apply, click this link.