For some time now, it has been evident that a skills gap exists in the digital industry, meaning that as our industry continues to develop at pace, we are facing a shortage of skilled workers needed to keep our industry growing.

We are breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for everyone, regardless of background.

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As part of our mission to build the UK’s digital talent pipeline and fill the skills gap, we have been working with some amazing partners to challenge the perceptions of what an engineer in our industry looks like.

The hashtag, for us symbolises what we are working to achieve – that IT and telecoms roles are open to everyone. We have demonstrated that you can hire personality and train the skills.

IT and tech jobs shouldn’t be pigeon-holed – we’re recruiting young people into roles without entry requirements, they have no experience, just the right attitude and skills – we are recruiting for the 21st century, the 21st century way.

By removing the entry requirements, and allowing the person to take centre stage, almost 40% of our apprentice intake this year has been female – many from disadvantaged backgrounds, ensuring that true diversity and inclusion is achieved.

The tech industry isn't just about innovation; it's about creating a community that reflects the diversity and dynamism of the world it serves.

True diversity necessitates a conscious effort to bridge gaps, and The ITP have concrete and effective strategies in place to achieve this.

What does an engineer look like?

Many people have a pre-conceived idea of how an engineer should look and what education they should have received, not taking into account that the person who may be perfect for the role has a family that couldn’t afford to have a PC in their home that they could learn to code on, or take it apart to work out how the motherboard works – and then afford to replace it when they break it! Or a family that doesn’t have an Xbox that they can modify and synch to flash the lights in time with the music.

We believe these people should be given equal opportunity to succeed and not penalised for circumstances outside of their control

These pre-conceived ideas are not important.

The way to gain true diversity in your organisation is to challenge your perception, believe in what you are doing, embrace different, and give an opportunity to someone you never would have before, then, and only then will this industry ever have a truly diverse workforce.

This is not a change that is going to happen overnight, but the work we do now to challenge perceptions will affect the generations to come. We need to start from the beginning by teaching the younger generations that they can be anything that they want to be.

What Next?......

We Need You!

We are looking for likeminded organisations to partner with us and help us make our dreams become reality!