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CompTIA has launched its Dream IT initiative in the UK to provide industry professionals with the tools help more girls take up a career in tech.
Dream IT will also offer advice for women who may want to make a switch to IT or re-enter the job market. As well as ready-to-use presentations and seminars for this purpose, the initiative also provides resources for young women themselves to learn more about the opportunities a career in IT can offer them.
The resources, which will be free to access, include UK specific career advice aimed at young women who are considering a step into the industry.
Articles demonstrate what a career in IT is like, what skills they need to get started and what they should expect. It will also offer ready-made seminars and presentations which will help equip female IT professionals with the tools to take the Advancing Women in IT message out into schools, colleges, universities, careers fares and events across the country and become role models themselves.
The programme aims to create a group of UK industry ambassadors to convey the diverse skill sets required in today’s IT industry and the breadth of potential career paths open to everyone from career-changers to school-leavers across the emerging digital economy.
“Ensuring that more women enter the IT industry is hugely important for diversity and helping address the industry-wide skills gap,” said Cathy Alper, Director, Member Communities US, CompTIA.
“Women are actually well suited for a career in IT, which requires all sorts of skills, not just programming. Women bring leadership and interpersonal skills, which are a benefit to the IT workplace. In fact last year, we found that 73 per cent of female IT professionals believe that their jobs make good use of their skills.
“We’ve been working closely with our UK member community over the past year to develop these new materials that will help ensure that women and girls hear about the opportunities and benefits of a career in IT,” she added.
Find out more about Dream IT here.
CompTIA’s senior vice president for industry relations, Nancy Hammervik, gave a talk about the important of women in IT at this year’s PCR Women of the Year on October 16th, and the firm were also a partner at the awards event.
“This is our second year we are supporting this event. We are celebrating quite a few women who are setting an example for women in the industry," she said.
You can read more about all the winners of this year’s Women of the Year awards here and check back later in the week for Nancy’s talk in full.
