Apple scheme offers boost to encourage more girls into tech careers

Apple wants to end the decline in students entering electronic engineering and get more females excited about a job in this much-needed field. The US technology giant recently joined as a partner of the Girls Into Electronics scheme, an initiative of the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF) which aims to tackle the skills shortage in the industry along with reducing the gender and skills gap in the sector.

Now, to help boost excitement around the topic further, Apple has announced that it is running dedicated sessions at its space-aged new UK headquarters in London where teenagers get the chance to speak to women already in the industry, get inspired and try their hand at practical tasks using the latest Apple tech.

This Electronic Engineering Academy gives young people the ability to learn about the world of electronic engineering and also hear about what careers are available within this vital industry.

Interactive sessions take place throughout the day and there’s also the chance to chat with industry experts to gain insight into what’s needed to take the next step towards starting a career in electronics.

Apple says the Academy is part of its ongoing commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in the technology business.

Speaking at one of the recent sessions, which saw 20 students attend from four schools in the vicinity of Battersea Power Station, Susan Prescott, Apple’s VP of Worldwide Developer Relations, Education and Enterprise Markets told Express.co.uk: “Apple has a set of values that we abide by. It has to do with environment, it has to do with privacy and has to do with inclusion and diversity. That’s something we hold dear, but if we have an impact outside our company, we want to do that as well.

“It’s a very simple observation that you can only hire people into a role based on the population that exists for that. We’ve done things internally to ensure that there’s a different slate of candidates interviewing for every role, including in engineering.

“Doing things like that gives us a very clear understanding of just how underrepresented the talent is in certain areas.

“We have a sense of using our platform and our position where young people look to Apple or love our products and we felt like we had an opportunity to engage more.

“Certainly here in the UK, there is tremendous opportunity to hopefully build and inspire. If you don’t show, young people what’s possible, they don’t know it. We need hands-on like this. This is one example of a programme that really hits what with think is important.”