Some of the worldís largest employers are gathering today with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to launch a programme encouraging girls in England to rethink their views that careers in technology are boring and íjust for boysí. This is the first and largest programme of its kind in the UK.
Computer Clubs for Girls (CC4G) is an award winning programme which will bring to life the fun and excitement of a career in technology for 150,000 girls, aged 10-14, from September. The programme, being rolled out nationally to 3,600 schools, has been developed by e-skills UK[1], the employer-led organisation responsible for IT skills development, in partnership with the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). CC4G gives girls the opportunity to take part in a wide range of activities from designing their own celebrity posters or magazine covers, creating a fashion show or mixing music.
Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK, said: At the moment, women make up only 20 per cent of the IT workforce. Add to this the fact that only 20 per cent of those undertaking IT-related degree courses are women. We need more women to consider technology-led careers and to do so we need to show young girls what an exciting and varied career they can have. CC4G is fundamental to our economic competitiveness. We want more businesses to support CC4G.
e-skills UK is calling on more employers, small, medium and large, to work with us to benefit from the SSA for IT.[2]
Industry leaders such as Cisco, IBM, EDS, Ford Motor Company and British Airways have pledged their support including the commitment of employee volunteers and professional advice for courseware development. Software companies including Serif, Gael and Idigicon have agreed to donate leading-edge software to the programme.
Brian McBride, Managing Director of T-Mobile UK said: CC4G is one of the most exciting projects to address IT skills amongst young people that I have ever seen. The project is a valuable and successful way of fulfilling technology employersí long-term need for a diverse, skilled and motivated work force.
Some 3,500 girls have been involved in the pilot pioneered by SEEDA in the South East over the last three years and over two-thirds of these said they would be more likely to consider a career in technology after participating in the club. Teachers involved in pilots also report that clubs have had a knock-on benefit to other school courses as ICT skills are used to help students with their coursework. Important general skills such as, project management and communication skills as well as team working and critical thinking are also proving transferable across the school curriculum.
Education and Skills Secretary, Ruth Kelly said:
It is absolutely vital that we take every opportunity to help girls recognise the relevance and attractiveness of careers in science and technology.
Initiatives like Computer Clubs for Girls are having a dramatic impact on girlsí interest and confidence in technology. It is good news that we are now able to offer CC4G to schools across the UK.
CC4G is a key component of e-skills UKís three-year action plan for IT skills, the Sector Skills Agreement for IT (SSA for IT), also being launched today. The action plan is the first time industry, employers, government and the education sector have collaborated on this scale on a strategy to improve IT skills in the UK.
Pam Alexander, Chief Executive of SEEDA, the main funding partners of the CC4G programme, said: I have been really excited by the success of this initiative which recognises that to build the skills we need in the labour force of the future we must begin in our schools. By targeting girls at a significant stage in their education we can attract them into IT at the right time by showing them that can computers can be both fun and useful. One hundred per cent of schools involved in CC4G pilots feel that IT confidence levels are improved as a result of CC4G. That is a huge achievement.
Our next challenge - after rolling this out nationwide - is to build the pathway from 14-years onwards with appropriate and attractive courses for these girls. And then address the needs of boys too.
Employers who wish to engage with CC4G can do so via an online service which matches what they can offer: volunteering time to help out, donating software or nominating potential schools, with what schools are looking for. Go to
Girls just wanna have fun
150,000 to benefit from clubs to attract girls into technology careers
