Learning digital and essential skills through Apps for Good empowers young people to take action on the issues they care about most - in their own communities. This project will inspire girls and others from underrepresented groups to study computing and pursue careers in digital technology. We will provide free introductory computing courses to schools, giving young people the digital and essential skills to shape their future through technology.
There aren't enough skilled people to meet the demands of rapid growth fuelled by continuous tech innovation, and diversity continues to be a huge challenge in the digital economy. Just 29% of UK tech employees are women or non-binary; Amongst senior UK tech role holders, just 21% are women and just 14% are from ethnic minorities; 25% of UK tech employees are from ethnic minorities and just 5% are black; 6% of UK tech employees are disabled, compared to 23% of the wider working age population.
There are ways to encourage more people from underrepresented groups, including girls, into technology careers - if we make computing relatable, engaging and accessible. To attract a broad range of learners, our courses are student-driven, enabling young people to build an app prototype to tackle a social challenge that they care about - something impacting their own life or community. This means they are motivated and engaged, while learning and practising new digital and essential skills.
We gather insights through surveys, interviews and focus groups, in order to understand whether independent learning and a social action focus - both core components of our courses work to engage a range of learners with computing. They do! 81% of survey respondents reported improvements in their computer programming skills. 71% said they felt more determined to learn in computing lessons following the course. 93% reported improvements in two or more essential skills; 86% in at least four!
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