Itโs an age-old conundrum: How do you break into an industry that requires experience, if you need to work in the industry to gain that experience? This is not a hypothetical question, especially when you consider the tech sector.
Currently, only about 2 million people in the UK work in the technology industry, which accounts for just over 6% of the workforce. At the same time, youth unemployment remains high, with negative implications for future prospects.
Coding, engineering, and other STEM skills are the future of employment. Yet despite this, careers advice schemes currently suggest trying to get placements in charity shops, with emergency services, or even at food banks.
Why are students struggling to find meaningful work experience with tech companies?
Why Work Experience is So Valuable
Work experience is a lot more than a box-ticking exercise for schools and students. Meaningful work experience helps kids:
- Build relationships that could help them later in their career
- Learn about the industry theyโre interested in
- Develop transferable skills
- Gain confidence
- Discover the duties and responsibilities of particular roles
Thereโs a misconception across the UK that work experience kids just end up making the tea. If a child is lucky enough to get work experience with a tech company, they might learn a lot more than how to find the good tea bags. Yet if tech companies donโt let schools and parents know that theyโre willing to take students under their wing, the options for truly meaningful work experience dwindle.
Tech Companies Need to be Louder About Work Experience
There used to be plenty of large companies that were very vocal about work experience opportunities for year 10 and year 12 students, and even some that offered opportunities during further and higher education. However, a quick search reveals that most of these opportunities seem to have either vanished or are so well hidden that finding them could deter students who are already under pressure to book a placement quickly.
Many schools partner with local companies to offer work experience placements. Tech companies could take advantage of this, offering mentorship and work experience within departments that they know will require fresh talent in the years ahead.
15.4% of businesses are currently experiencing a shortfall in skilled workers. Despite data-literacy and IT know-how being some of the most sought-after skills, about half of businesses struggle to find candidates with the right training. Technology-based organizations could be filling their own skill gaps right now by investing their time and energy in enthusiastic young people willing to learn.
Inclusivity for All
Inclusivity is also an issue, especially for girls in tech and young women in tech that want to learn more, grow, and set themselves up for future success. Although the gender gap is slowly shrinking, women still account for only 26% of the IT workforce.
Savvy tech companies should be nurturing any girls that want to come and get their work experience sifting data, examining robotics, or coding. Itโs a way to guarantee that once girls graduate, theyโll remember the companies that provided those life-changing experiences.
Seeking Solutions: Programs and Initiatives for Breaking Into Tech
The UK government supports getting kids into work experience early, with a recent report stating, โGiven that career-defining views develop from an early age, beginning CEIAG provision at 16 is too late.โ The same report also cited a 70% decline in kids taking the Design and Technology GCSE. Kids are interested in tech, but while opportunities to jump feet-first into the tech industry remain invisible, that interest could remain unnurtured.
There are ย a few initiatives out there that help children explore work experience in the tech industry. Some school careers services offer advice and support specifically aimed at those with a passion for tech.
There are also some tech giants invested in nurturing the next generation of innovators. Rolls Royce, for example, offers work experience placements, including in engineering roles.
Some companies offer virtual work experience, a possible alternative for children in schools that donโt have any nearby tech companies.
There are even initiatives aimed at achieving gender parity in the tech industry. Next Tech Girls sets school-age girls up with valuable work experience opportunities to help them become the future women in tech. 230 schools in the UK partner with this initiative, and over 2,600 girls have had hands-on experience in a tech career because of these partnerships. However, without tech companies that say โYes!โ to allowing kids to come and work with them, these work experience opportunities donโt exist.
Tech Companies Hold the Power to Make the Industry Accessible
Itโs critical that tech companies increase their partnerships with grassroots organisations and education settings, opening up avenues for kids from a range of backgrounds. Technology organisations gain the very real benefits of enhancing their brand image, not in a superficial way, but by building lasting relationships with communities and individualsโrelationships that will most likely lead to future talent choosing that company when the time comes to find a career.
Becoming more accessible and inclusive means that companies are more likely to hit their corporate social responsibility (CSR) targets, too. Visible CSR commitments builds loyalty between organisations and their clients, their communities, and their workforce.
Ultimately, consumers gain the reassurance that theyโre engaging with brands that genuinely care about a better tomorrow; not just via innovative tech products, but in the way they empower the next generation and help provide them with the tools to succeed.
One way to help provide your kids with the best opportunities for STEM careers means getting them into tech education at a young age! Talk to Girls Into Coding about our completely free workshops and events encouraging girls in STEM and tech to get excited about coding, robotics, 3D printing, AI, and more.
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