www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org Students’ perception of ICT, e-Skills and ICT careers Alexa Joyce Senior Business Development & Communications Manager
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
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 3
• 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
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 4
• 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
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 5
• ‘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?
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 6
Student
Formal Informal
Parents PeersTeachersCareer
guidance
Culture
Pedagogicaluse of IT
Rolemodels
eConfidence
Leisureuse of IT
Perceptionof IT
CurriculumSchool
IT facilities
Gender
Factors influencing students
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 7
Influence of role models
Data from June white paper with Cisco
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 8
• 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?
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 9
Perception vs. reality
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 10
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
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 11
Need for multi-stakeholder partnerships
EU approaches
1. E-Skills Industry Leadership Board
2. European Centre for Women and Technology
3. e-Skills Week
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 12
• 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…
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 14
• 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
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 15
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
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 16
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
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 17
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
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 18
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!
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org19
NANOYOUNewest project – on nanotech + nanoICT – involves research
centres, science parks, and more
www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 20
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