Computer Clubs for Girls
8 June 2009It is imperative that businesses, universities and the public sector can recruit and retain the skilled workers within the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) they need to create a thriving regional knowledge economy. The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) plays an important role in delivering this target.
One example of this is the pioneering ‘Computer Clubs for Girls’ (CC4G). SEEDA provided £2.8 million at the outset to develop the innovative CC4G programme in conjunction with e-Skills UK. This initiative was crafted to address the shortage of females working in the ICT arena, and is in direct response to the IT industry’s concerns that the number of women in its workforce has declined from 30 per cent to 22 per cent within the last eight years.
CC4G is aimed at school children between the ages of 10 and 14 years old and the courses are run voluntarily as ‘out of hours’ school clubs. Positive feedback from teachers has described a dramatic increase in girls thinking about careers involving technology. A recent survey indicated that 66 per cent of CC4G members were more likely to consider a career in IT as an attractive and personally fulfilling option.
Since the inception of the CC4G programme in 2004, a total of 12,976 girls from across 785 schools throughout the South East have actively benefited from tailored ICT courses.
The success of the programme in the South East prompted the Government to fund a national roll out, with total funding of £8.8 million.
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