Digital Careers

The number of young people taking technology related subjects at GCSE has dropped by 40% since 2015.

UK tech currently employs 2.93m people, a 40% growth in the last two years (Tech Nation), yet 69% of UK businesses believe their organisation is facing a digital skills gap. 

The existing digital skills gap, exacerbated by Brexit, is further strained by the demand for technology related skills to support our economic recovery post pandemic. This highlights the urgent need for employers to support the upskilling of young people in this dominant sector. Research by the University of Roehampton which looks at how many pupils achieved GCSE and A-level computing qualifications showed that only 12% of students chose to take Computer Science at GCSE and A-level and only 20% of these students were girls.

We need to address this issue and inspire young people into digital careers. Role models play a vital role in achieving this goal by inspiring interest in AI, cloud, robotics and more, and highlight the diverse opportunities and pathways available in the digital arena.

If you would like to be a digital careers role model, register as a volunteer on our platform. If your organisation would like to be a Digital Careers pillar sponsor, contact Melanie on fundraising@founders4schools.org.uk for more information.