Jane Davidson, Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, has announced today that funding will be made available in Wales to roll out the Computer Clubs for Girls project to all secondary schools. The Computer Clubs for Girls is an initiative which seeks to address the gender imbalance in the IT workforce in the UK. The Minister said:
I am delighted that we have been able to support the Computer Clubs for Girls initiative in Wales both through the funding of the initial pilot - and now with the funding of packs to all secondary schools in Wales for the first year.
The pilot work was a tremendous success and I congratulate everyone who had a part to play in developing and running the pilots - including e-skills and the teachers and the girls involved. I am delighted that the evaluation has shown that a high percentage of those who participated in the programme would now consider IT as a career, and that all the schools that took part wanted to run the clubs the next year.
I truly believe that the only way we will ensure that young girls and boys looking at their careers options and making their choices in school do not just follow the old stereotypes of paths is through initiatives like this one. We are undertaking significant work within the Welsh Assembly to look at this important issue. The CC4G initiative tackles the negative perceptions that young girls have of the industry and broadens the minds of the girls taking part in this initiative to a career option they would not have previously thought of.
I look forward to seeing positive results from the roll out and would encourage all schools to participate if they are able to.
