Tag: Women in Tech

Athena Academy provides an alternative path into the tech world

Sparta Global recently announced the launch of Sparta’s Athena Academy. The Academy is an all-women technology training and careers stream.

Sparta was founded in 2014 to help close the UK’s digital skills gap. Despite its growth, the company still feels that contributing to gender parity across the wider technology ecosystem is important.

The government-funded growth network Tech Nation recently revealed that nearly three million people, or 9% of the UK workforce, work in the UK tech industry, but only 26% of these are women.

The Athena Academy will provide women of all experience levels with an alternative path into technology:

  • 12 weeks of focussed Java development training
  • Learning alongside an all-women cohort
  • Training delivered by an in-house, all-women training faculty
  • A salary paid throughout the training
  • The opportunity to work for an established Sparta Global client in their first tech role

David Rai, Sparta Global CEO, commented: “While we have thousands of fantastic women Spartans and alumni who have come through the Sparta Global Academy, we know there are some who see training and working in a male-dominated industry as too daunting to explore,” says “Sparta’s Athena Academy is about empowering more women through technology, giving them the opportunity to learn alongside female peers and inspiring role models in a supportive and safe space that will push the limits of their potential.

The UK technology industry needs women to meet the needs of society and it is our hope that our Athena Academy will give more women the opportunity to positively impact our clients with fresh thinking, diverse perspectives, and passions.”

 

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Only 42% of tech companies offer training and development

Female employees have gained ground in the workplace, however large skill gaps still exist when it comes to opportunities for professional development and career advancement. This, according to findings released by Skillsoft in its 2021 Women in Tech Report.

The report revealed a misalignment between the workplace benefits women in tech are seeking and what is currently being provided. For example, while 86% of respondents cited that opportunities for professional development and training as extremely or very important to them, a mere 42% said their employers currently offer this as a benefit. Additionally, when asked about the top challenges they have faced while pursuing a tech-related career, nearly a third of women surveyed (32%) pointed to a lack of training.

Potoula Chresomales, SVP, Product Management at Skillsoft commented: “Organisations around the globe are looking for ways to address their skills gaps, and in many cases, the answer lies within via their existing workforce. Women make up less than 40% of the global workforce, and for that number to increase, female employees must be empowered with continuous training, professional development, and career advancement, as well as equal pay. The time is now for organisations to tackle gender disparity head-on. By doing so, we can build more inclusive, equitable, and competitive businesses.”

Skillsoft’s 2021 Women in Tech Report highlights a few ways organisations can better empower female employees. Here they are:

Provide and encourage opportunities for certification

  • When asked how certifications have helped advance their careers, respondents reported gaining more responsibility (52%), earning higher salaries (34%), and receiving promotions (32%), among other benefits.
  • Despite business analysis and cybersecurity being identified as leading areas of interest, just 22 percent and 18 percent of respondents, respectively, hold corresponding certifications. 19 percent report holding no certifications at all.

Make an effort to reduce gender bias in STEM

  • 70 percent of women surveyed reported that men outnumber them in the workplace at ratios of two-to-one or greater.
  • The highest percentage of men in leadership roles have 15 to 20 years of experience versus 26 or more years for women.
  • To encourage more women to pursue tech-related careers, respondents said organisations should provide opportunities for professional development and training (55%), childcare (47%), career coaching, mentoring, and counselling (43%), and an equitable work culture (41%).

Alleviate the unique on-the-job challenges women face

  • More than a third of respondents list their biggest challenge as a lack of equity in pay. This is followed by balancing work and life (36%) and a lack of equity in opportunities (33%).

Ensure training is timely and topical

  • When selecting a training provider, women in tech seek scheduling capabilities (34%), relevant course availability (32%), and opportunities for hands-on practice (32%).
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Two thirds of businesses intend to increase tech spend 

According to the Digital Leadership Report, a collaborative study by The Harvey Nash Group, CIONET and Massachusetts Institute of Technology CISR, the positive economic growth in the UK tech sector is under threat as massive skills shortages continue. This comes as companies signal their intentions to increase technology investment (61%) and headcount (66%) – record levels – but have limited talent to support it.

The study found that the UK’s tech skills crisis is at its highest with 8 in 10 digital leaders reporting that following the pandemic, new life priorities of staff is making retaining talent even more difficult. Forty percent of leaders in the UK admit they can’t keep key people as long as they’d like because they’re being lured away by offers of more money. Only one in three organisations (38%) have redesigned their employee offer to make it attractive to staff in the new hybrid working world.

Other findings included:

  • There has been record tech investment and headcount growth rising by over a third (36% and 37% respectively) since 2020.
  • The impact of skills crisis on business growth means that 66% of digital leaders in the UK are now unable to keep pace with change because of a lack of the talent they need.
  • Cyber security is the most sought-after tech skill in the UK with 43% indicating a shortage, followed by big data/analysts (36%), and technical architects (33%).
  • A lack of developers (32%) has been identified amongst the three jobs with the worst skills shortages in the UK behind HGV drivers and nurses. Harvey Nash Group says that this shortage correlates with the report’s finding that companies are focusing on creating new products and services, and therefore need developers to do that work.

Bridging the skills gap 

Bev White, CEO of Harvey Nash Group commented:  “With businesses planning record levels of digital investment, we could be standing on the verge of a ‘second renaissance’ for technology. Organisations are looking to push their digital transformations further and faster than ever before, putting technology at the very heart of how they operate. This will take them beyond being merely ‘tech-centric’: technology will literally be dispersed throughout the business, everywhere.

“But these ambitions are coming under threat from the acute skills shortages that are now worse than ever before. In fact, businesses face a triple whammy. They lack the supply of skilled resource they need; they have not yet evolved a new and effective employee proposition for the hybrid working world; and the skills they need are themselves changing as technology develops at pace. Digital leaders need to rapidly assess their needs and find solutions if their plans are not to be derailed by this potent cocktail of challenges.”

Bev White will be sharing some of these insights and what that means for recruiters at the TALiNT PointSix Lunch & Learn: Post-pandemic tech priorities for recruiters: How to build the best business case for the next phase of tech transformation on 24 November.

 

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