The government recently announced a package aimed at encouraging women and girls into the tech industry. Part of this includes the TechFirst Girls competition:
This competition will see thousands of 12 and 13 year old girls compete, using technologies like AI and coding to think creatively and problem solve to compete in challenges and win. It provides girls insight into how tech can be used to tackle problems, and what a future career in tech might be like
My first impression was how much this sounded like ‘I call App Britain’ from The Thick of It. Will they be paid in digital dividends?
I’ve got no doubt that this is very well-intentioned by the government and they have also commissioned a Women in Tech task force.
But we are already facing a wider issue — kids are not being trained for jobs now, let alone future jobs. At the point where girls will be deciding their GCSEs, shouldn’t they ideally already have some basic knowledge?
Technology is now being used more than ever in schools, but is it being used in the right way? We all know that in order to set up kids for success they need to start learning young. Most children already know how to use a phone or tablet by infant school. The Department for Education’s 2024–25 Technology in Schools survey found that 79% of primary teachers reported that pupils used IT devices in fewer than a quarter of their lessons. In the UK, computing and the safe use of technology is a mandatory part of the National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2. But the same report found 84% of secondary schools restrict pupil use of generative AI in lessons, and only 20% of primary schools offer staff any training in it — the very technology the TechFirst Girls competition wants 12 and 13 year olds to compete with.
The Department for Education issues ongoing digital and technology standards to guide schools on properly maintaining and managing these devices. But the approach is up to the school and the onus is on parents to find out how this is being used in lessons and what is being taught.
One-to-one device-to-child teaching is rare in most primary schools and tablets are used as a teaching aid for the class. I often ask Victor, our 9-year-old, what they do in lessons and I’m personally frustrated with how these resources are being used. Art lessons where the children watch an online video of someone recreating a famous painting. ICT lessons where they recreate a country’s flag in paint and play a times table game where they earn in-game cash for getting sums right. They know the Jet2 advert theme from watching YouTube at school.
To me it feels like devices are being used to alleviate the undeniable burden on understaffed classrooms, while devices at home are being used by overworked parents as childcare solutions. School leaders confirm the pattern: 58% are planning to invest in AI tools for teachers, against just 20% planning the same for pupils. They’ll always have the option to work in tech, but their knowledge is being acquired outside of school hours, taught by us. If schools aren’t teaching basics like coding in primary, children are already being left behind for the current job market, let alone the future one.
I worked a DWP subcontract supporting jobseekers, and the barriers to tech were immense. Quite aside from many clients having very limited access to suitable devices, there was no support to upskill in even basic areas. IT courses were the very basics. Anybody needing to get back into what we think of as unskilled work now had to apply online, use company portals, know the Microsoft suite. I saw many clients who had previously worked in tech take jobs in other sectors as the immense pressure to find work and absence of upskilling opportunities did not allow them to get back to their former careers. Younger clients often expressed a desire to work in tech, but lacked the knowledge or qualifications. I’d often refer them to the National Careers Service — when faced with a choice of several years of further education, they again chose other industries even though they were incredibly capable of using technology day to day. Employers are asking for more and more experience for entry-level tech jobs — we know women are far less likely to apply to roles where they don’t meet all of the listed criteria. Where are school leavers to find these opportunities?
My own journey in tech has always been one of playing catch-up. I think that’s where most of us are today. The industry is evolving day by day. When I speak to people, they often say just keeping up to date is a full-time job in itself.
But some basic knowledge and early intervention will always be advantageous. I understand that helping girls catch up is vital. Surely the answer is overhauling the curriculum immediately with solid goals so that the next generation arrives at the job market with lifelong knowledge of how to build and understand tech, rather than being perpetually on the back foot.