A raft of recent skills, training and careers events specifically linked to the technology sector have highlighted how Lancashire is gearing up to meet the economic demands of the future. Children and young people from a wide variety of backgrounds, and with different levels of ability, from across Lancashire have been at the heart of the activities, which further reflects the county’s commitment to inclusive growth and creating good jobs for everyone in the digital space.
Hands-on activities to promote STEM pathways
In June, the University of Central Lancaster hosted TeenTech Lancashire 2024, an all-day interactive showcase of STEM-related disciplines, technology career pathways and exciting digital sector job opportunities.
Through a blend of virtual and physical exercises, pupils had the chance to try activities as varied as exoskeleton building, hi-tech fashion photography, digital code breaking, AI-programming, and theatrical special effects.
Around 200 young people from schools across Lancashire took part, as did over 20 regional and national employers including Oracle, BAE Systems, the BBC, the National Cyber Force, the NHS, Lancashire Police and Sodexo.
Now in its fourth year, TeenTech was delivered by the Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership (part of the Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub) in partnership with the national TeenTech charity. Other supporters and sponsors included the University of Central Lancashire, Lancashire Careers Hub, Lancashire Future U, Oracle and Softwire.
Fairy tales for the cyber generation
In addition to giving secondary school students a flavour of working within the digital industries through events like TeenTech, Lancashire’s younger pupils are also set to get an introduction to the mindset and abilities which will be needed to underpin the county’s future cyber workforce.
As part of that engagement piece, it has been announced that STEM First will deliver its Cyber Fairy Tales workshop in over 50 Lancashire primary schools over the next six months.
Described as an ‘escape room in a box’, the very visual and tactile Cyber Fairytales activity – which was demonstrated at the inaugural Lancashire Cyber Festival last year and featured on BBC news – has been proven to be a great way to give children a sense of the problem solving, curiosity and teamwork required to tackle the challenges which are generated through ‘digital domains’ such as cyberspace.
Pioneering cyber bursaries for Lancashire colleges
Both the Cyber Fairy Tales workshops and the TeenTech festival have been backed by DSIT, and it was national government which was also responsible for another significant Lancashire technology milestone recently: the launch of Strategic Command’s new cyber bursary programme.
Designed to encourage talented young people into digital and cyber careers in Defence, students from four Lancashire colleges – Blackpool and Fylde, Runshaw, Blackburn and Cardinal Newman – were invited to discover more about the trailblazing initiative at a special kick-off event at Blackburn FC’s Ewood Park stadium in July.
The bursary programme, a collaboration between Strategic Command, the Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub, and the Ministry of Defence’s Digital Skills for Defence programme, will see successful student applicants provided with access to a broad range of mentoring and development opportunities including digital learning, financial support, and a high-performance laptop.
Following the successful student engagement event in Lancashire, Strategic Command has announced plans to scale the bursary scheme across the UK.
An inclusive approach digital careers and technology skills
Some of Lancashire’s FE colleges have also recently taken part in a new skills initiative called Your Digital News Agency (aka Your DNA).
Part of the Digital Advantage scheme – a programme aimed at equipping cohorts of young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) the confidence and skills to pursue a digitally focused career pathway – the Your DNA workstream helps students develop the expertise needed to create high-quality, contemporary digital content including images, video, websites and podcasts.
Digital Advantage, which is funded in Lancashire by Lancashire County Council and Lancashire Future U, and is further supported by local employers and universities, recently held a graduation ceremony at County Hall in Preston for all the students who completed the Your DNA course this year.
To find out more about tech, digital and innovation skills provision in Lancashire, visit the Lancashire Skills and Employment hub website. For specific information about Lancashire’s award-winning Digital Skills Partnership, go here.
