Teenage girls are being encouraged to consider a career in data and technology, to help bridge the gender gap in the industry, with fewer than 17% of data professionals being female.
QA Apprenticeships is concerned that the situation is not going to improve. Out of 450 apprentices it took in for its year-long technology apprenticeship programmes last year, just 14% were female.
QA Apprenticeships director Ben Pike said: “It is quite disappointing. We try to do lots about it. We put female case studies forward. We try to demystify it to show it is not all about taking computers apart. We try to get into girls schools. A lot of our recruiters are female, which helps.”
His company works with the likes of British Gas, Atos, Capgemini, Cisco, Oracle, BSI and Fidelity. Apprentices on the 12-month programmes receive about 12 to 15 weeks of training from QA, which is fully funded by the government if they are aged between 16 and 18. Training for those older than 19 is only half-funded by government, and employers may be asked to make a contribution towards some of the training costs.
After one year, apprentices will gain a level three qualification (the equivalent of two A-levels) in technical support, software development or web design, as well as hands-on work experience.
