Nearly half of all secondary schools are now involved in
an employer-backed initiative to get more girls involved in
IT.
The Computer Clubs for Girls initiative
(CC4G), created
by IT sector skills council
e-skills, is an after-school
programme aimed at changing the way girls think about technology
and IT-related careers.
IT employers such as BA, IBM UK, Cisco Systems and MTV are
closely involved with the programme which now involves 94,000 girls
at 49% of secondary schools and 17% of primary schools.
CC4G gets girls involved with technology by showing how it is
used in ways that interest them - through music, fashion, celebrity
and design - and in some schools it has been integrated into the
curriculum.
Spokeswoman Tilly Travers said, "The UK's IT industry is growing
at five to eight times the national average, and around 150,000
entrants to the IT workforce are required each year. Currently,
less than one in five of the IT workforce is female. Drawing new
talent into the IT workforce is vital to its renewal and
growth."
