Eminent Alexa Joyce

www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org

Students’ perception of ICT, e-Skills and ICT careers

Alexa JoyceSenior Business Development &

Communications Manager

www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 2

Perception of ICT & e-Skills

Contents

1. Overview of the current situation

2. Why are students still not attracted to ICT studies and careers?

3. What can be done?

4. Multi-stakeholder initiatives


• CEPIS forecasts a shortfall of 70,000 skilled ICT workers by 2010.

• If employment rates amongst women remain at current levels, Europe can expect to see a shortfall of 24 million people in the active workforce by 2040.

• If women’s employment rates equal men’s, then the projected shortfall drops to 3 million.

• Potential impact– EU not able to compete on world stage

– Drop in innovation

Major EU skills shortage in ICT


• Paradox: young people have falling interest in maths, science and technology in general

• Low interest in IT careers, particularly among girls

• Yet young people are keen users of IT tools– IT consumers (smart phones, netbooks, etc.)

– Majority use a blog, Facebook or MySpace account, or other IT tool regularly (particularly girls)

– Majority play computer games in some form

– Now spend more time on YouTube than watching TV

Falling interest but rising use


• ‘Digital natives’ fallacy – mixture of skills, use and levels of use observable

–eSafety problems, illegal use, lack of critical skills

• Young people perceive leisure use as ‘not technological’ and ‘not productive’

• Even when acquiring new skills via ICT (e.g. learning English via online gaming), experience is so seamless that they do not realise they are learning

• ICT is part of their ‘every day furniture’

• They don’t always understand how to transform leisure skills to academic / professional use of ICT

Why doesn’t leisure use have impact?


Student

Formal Informal

Parents PeersTeachersCareer

guidance

Culture

Pedagogicaluse of IT

Rolemodels

eConfidence

Leisureuse of IT

Perceptionof IT

CurriculumSchool

IT facilities

Gender

Factors influencing students


Influence of role models

Data from June white paper with Cisco


• Many parents don’t consider ICT a feasible career path

• Parents and teachers have outdated view of ICT:

–Only for geeks

–Only for men

–Involves little social interaction or creativity

–Involves programming only

• Careers advisors also not informed

Why role models have negative influence?


Perception vs. reality


But we play “catch up” with IT sector: new products and services arrive thick and fast!

Need for all stakeholders to cooperate to improvedigital literacy, from young children upwards.

These initiatives are all supporting a transformationof education, using technology as a pedagogical tool.

Many public sector initiatives…

Lack link to ICT careers, social value of ICT, etc


Need for multi-stakeholder partnerships

EU approaches

1. E-Skills Industry Leadership Board

2. European Centre for Women and Technology

3. e-Skills Week


• e-Skills Industry Leadership Board driving multi-stakeholder approach targeting secondary and early tertiary students:

– Private companies in IT– Organisations offering IT training and certification– Education sector– European Commission closely linked

e-Skills Industry Leadership Board

www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 13 13

Sci-tech / ICT studies and careers options…


• Multistakeholder partnership with

– Private companies in IT• SAP• Oracle• HP• Google

– Education and training bodies• European Schoolnet• CEPIS

– Supported by Commissioner for Information Society

European Centre for Women and Tech

Launch video


Web

BusinessBusinessBasic Principles:Basic Principles:•ComplianceCompliance•Social innovation•Open business model

Core philosophy: Core philosophy: •People and technology interaction (context) driven services

Web

TechnologyTechnologyBasic Principles:Basic Principles:•CollaborationWareCollaborationWare•Ecospace - process oriented collaboration•Extensible: interoperability

multilingual, multipurpose•Multilevel and Strict Authentication•Easy to use

Core philosophy:Core philosophy:•Web as platform•SaaS

Web

CommunityCommunityBasic Principles:Basic Principles:•Structured community buildingcommunity building by a critical mass of empowered users•Collaboration across regions, across sectors, across scales, across times, across and within stakeholders•Multi-stakeholder and multi-sector interaction •Transparency•IPR

Core philosophy:Core philosophy:•Collectively designing a structured megacommunity knowledgebase•Users contributing to marketing, dissemination and leveraging of resources, research and progress

European Directory of Women + Tech


The corporate sector will make a KEY contribution by involving young women, The corporate sector will make a KEY contribution by involving young women, and giving them ICT professional pathwaysand giving them ICT professional pathways

It will act as It will act as facilitatorfacilitator to provide career opportunities for women. to provide career opportunities for women.

In turn, the EUD will act as a In turn, the EUD will act as a catalystcatalyst for the business sector. for the business sector.

The multi-stakeholder and multi-sector interaction is situated in the new The multi-stakeholder and multi-sector interaction is situated in the new knowledge environment for collaboration across regions, across sectors, knowledge environment for collaboration across regions, across sectors, across scales, across times, across and within stakeholdersacross scales, across times, across and within stakeholders

The interactions within the communities will build career pathways byThe interactions within the communities will build career pathways by

linking all stakeholders involved in the development of ICT: linking all stakeholders involved in the development of ICT:

linking education, the corporate sector, SMEs, ICT clusters and projects, networks, linking education, the corporate sector, SMEs, ICT clusters and projects, networks, NGOs, private-public partnerships, as well as individual experts, strategic thinkers, NGOs, private-public partnerships, as well as individual experts, strategic thinkers, leaders,leaders,

linking Training, Research and Development with corporate needs and linking Training, Research and Development with corporate needs and

empowering women in a variety of waysempowering women in a variety of ways

European Directory


Conclusions (1)Conclusions (1)

The European Directory isThe European Directory is

a solutiona solution

an enabling tool to develop collaboration platformsan enabling tool to develop collaboration platforms

a pillar for new clusters for ICT innovation and competitivenessa pillar for new clusters for ICT innovation and competitiveness

Conclusions (2)Conclusions (2)

Young women and returners with ICT competence profiles Young women and returners with ICT competence profiles

• will play an active role in gathering cutting-edge expertise, will play an active role in gathering cutting-edge expertise,

• in developing services and products in developing services and products

• will be empowered will be empowered to contribute to the knowledge economy and to contribute to the knowledge economy and the quality of life the quality of life

European Directory


e-Skills Week

March 2010 Raising awareness of ICT studies, and careers

1. CEO / IT professionals tour schools

2. ‘Speed dating’ between young professionals(including women) and students

3. Specific attention to gender – European Centrefor Women and Tech,

4. Involvement of key motivating technologiesand themes, i.e.

• Digital creativity (art, music…)

• ICT for social good (development, health)

• Green IT

More in next presentation!

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NANOYOUNewest project – on nanotech + nanoICT – involves research

centres, science parks, and more


Women and tech – bridging the gap

Thanks!

Find out more:

- Visit the e-Skills career portal at

http://eskills.eun.org

- Download the white paper at

www.eun.org/whitepaper