No tech background required: inside the Sage Partner Academy

Created by VERCIDA for Sage

Since 2022, the Sage Partner Academy has helped more than 100 people from a wide range of backgrounds become certified consultants with Sage Partners. Glen Towers and Fatima Nixon explain how it works, and why it matters. 

Left to right: Fatima Nixon, Pathways Global Programme Lead; Glen Towers, Senior Partner Growth Manager; Rachel Khalil, Senior Partner Marketing Operations Manager

Career returners, recent graduates, people who have worked in logistics and even former croupiers are now building careers in tech with Sage Partners. The route that got them there is the Sage Partner Academy, a 12-week programme that combines recruitment, training and support. 

We spoke to two Sage people at the heart of it: Glen Towers, Senior Partner Growth Manager, who owns the Academy, and Fatima Nixon, Pathways Global Programme Lead, who supports Partners recruit new colleagues to take part. 

More than product training 

The Academy launched its first cohort in February 2022, founded by Rachel Khalil, to help Partners scale quickly as Sage Intacct grew in the UK. From the start, it set out to do more than teach the software. 

“Partners told us there was value in new colleagues understanding who Sage are and the Partner ecosystem,” says Glen. “So alongside the solution, we cover softer skills like consulting and timekeeping.” 

Glen, a former Partner trainer who joined Sage in 2007, supported Rachel from the start and took ownership when she changed roles. “It’s by far the most satisfying part of my role,” he says. “Some of the cohort are pretty nervous at the start. Within 12 weeks, you see them flourish.” 

As Partners’ feedback came in, one challenge stood out. “They loved the results the Academy generates, but they were struggling to find the right people to put through it,” Glen explains. “Some Partners had job adverts up for long periods of time without success.” 

The Academy now helps Partners recruit as well as train. It has also grown beyond implementation to include pre-sales and customer success pathways. 

Recruiting like an agency, from inside Sage 

Fatima’s agency background has proved essential. “When I’m hiring into Sage, I know the company, its values and how we work,” she says. “As an agency recruiter, you must understand all of that from scratch. That’s what I do with Partners. You can’t assume one size fits all.” 

That means understanding each Partner’s size, skills gaps, working arrangements and, sometimes, diversity goals. “It might be the same implementation consultant role,” Fatima explains, “but there will always be nuances.” 

Through Sage Pathways, she encourages Partners to look at talent pools they might not usually consider; career returners, career changers and people at the start of their careers. “What’s changed is that more Partners are open to recent graduates,” she says. “Some now actively seek people at the beginning of their careers, because they want to nurture them.” 

Fatima, a returner herself, works with Career Returners, a social business partnered with Sage who coach returners through their first six months in role. “Returners can do the role, but imposter syndrome can creep in a couple of months in,” she says. “A lot of candidates can’t quite believe how much support they’re getting.” 

Working for a Partner, not Sage 

Fatima makes clear from the first conversation that successful candidates are employed by a Sage Partner, not Sage. “I make the process really transparent: who the employer is, and the benefits of the Academy and that Partner,” she says. 

It’s a distinction many people miss. At a Durham University event, most students had heard of Sage, but none had heard of the Sage Partners, who account for around half of Sage’s global revenue. 

Inside the 12 weeks 

The Academy is blended, with four of the 12 weeks spent in person, usually in Newcastle. Week one covers who Sage are, the Partner ecosystem and how a SaaS business works. It’s also where Glen tackles imposter syndrome head on. 

“A lot of them think they need a degree in accounting or experience in tech,” he says. “One line I use is: you are not here to become an accountant. You’re here to help customers understand their business.” 

Weeks three and four bring in-person training and the certification exam. “We don’t use the F word with exams now….that’s FAIL!” Glen says. “If someone doesn’t get the mark, they have their trainers and their cohort around them to help understand where their learning has gaps, they take it again and complete it successfully.” 

The programme ends in week 12 with a presentation. Each graduate talks about their journey through the Academy and their goals for the next six to 12 months. Glen, the Academy team and their line manager all join, with Fatima also joining where she’s been involved in the graduate’s recruitment journey. Together, Sage and the Partner then confirm the graduate is ready to work with customers. 

“They’re almost different people by the end,” says Fatima. “Especially those who’ve struggled with imposter syndrome. They all get the same training and support, whatever their background.” 

Results that speak for themselves 

Ahead of its fifth anniversary in February 2027, the Academy has produced more than 100 certified consultants, and over 80% are still in role. Almost every candidate Fatima has sourced is still with the Partner they joined. 

Glen credits three layers of support: Sage, Partners who give graduates meaningful work, and each cohort’s WhatsApp group, where they share wins and help each other. 

“Glen’s knowledge of the Partner channel means I’m not wasting time sourcing the wrong candidates,” says Fatima. “And he trusts me to make the right decisions.” 

In one case, a Partner’s advert had been live for over a year. The candidate Fatima found is now halfway through the current cohort. “Fatima hasn’t just helped Partners find talent,” he says. “She’s helped them define it and get value from new colleagues quicker than they thought possible.” 

The industry has noticed. In 2023, CRN created a new Best Partner Programme category for the Academy, followed in 2024 by Best Diversity Recruitment Initiative of the Year. This year, Rachel won the Unsung Hero Award, and Sage won the Championing Diversity Award. 

In the words of the Academy’s alumni

“Returning to work after a five-year career break felt overwhelming but the Sage Partner Academy gave me exactly what I needed, a structured programme that combines theory with plenty of hands-on practice. I felt supported every step of the way, giving me the confidence and foundation to hit the ground running and start making a real contribution much sooner than I expected.”

Sage Intacct Implementation Consultant

“The Academy gave me the foundation for everything I’ve built since. Four years and twenty-plus projects later, it’s still the best decision I made.”

Sage Intacct Consultant