Inspiring students to imagine their future careers

Under Pressure

For too long, there has been tremendous reliance on parents, schools and government to capture children’s imaginations – to help them imagine their future careers.

Every child – regardless of their academic or cultural background – has potential to build a rewarding and meaningful career, where they can help shape the world and make a difference. To achieve this, I believe industry has a key role to play in inspiring our next generation to consider the exciting possibilities and opportunities ahead of them.

Around the world, we are facing a digital skills gap – and one of the several reasons is that too few schoolchildren are considering future careers in technology. Surprising, as this generation is the most agile and technologically ready than any other. Industry has a responsibility to partner with schools and government to help shift young people’s perceptions – to show that a career in technology is not just coding; it’s not exclusive to mathematics and science geniuses; it’s not only for men; and it’s certainly not boring. Technology changes the world; it helps solves some of humanity’s biggest problems.

INSPIRE

I am delighted Micro Focus is committed to inspiring the next generation to consider future careers in technology. As part of Micro Focus INSPIRE, our corporate social responsibility programme, this commitment is embedded in our social impact goals. Having recently joined Micro Focus in the UK, I was pleased to see the company pledge to help inspire 50,000 schoolchildren in Berkshire by 2025 to consider technology careers as part of the Hi-Tech Horizons programme, run in partnership with the Education Business Partnership. Over the last few months, I have volunteered virtually to support Hi-Tech Horizons, and in three months Micro Focus has reached more than 1,000 secondary school students in the Thames Valley area.

It’s been a rewarding journey, and many students have been amazed to discover that a career in technology is actually… pretty cool. During these discussions with students, we also talk about staying safe online – and help them understand the importance of their digital footprint and how they can secure their online data.

As champions of Safer Internet Day on 9 February, a global awareness day, Micro Focus is encouraging employees, customers and partners to get involved and make a difference. Inspire the next generation about the exciting careers in technology – and play your part in helping them to stay safe online.

Together, let’s make a commitment to help capture students’ imaginations: to help them realise their potential to achieve great things, and that a career in technology is for everyone. I speak from experience when I say a career in technology really is a gateway to making a positive difference in the world.

Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn if you want to talk more.

This post was first first published on Home | Micro Focus Blog website by richardbell. You can view it by clicking here