The Irish Computer Society (ICS) is involved with Women4IT, a multi-stakeholder project, funded by the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment.
From September the ICS will train 120 young women between the ages of 18 and 29 in one of 6 digital roles, relevant to employers in Dublin, who have a commitment to diversity and social responsibility. A clear description of each role is available at these links, as well as a detailed, customisable, training roadmap.
The training time will be 160 hours, approximately 20 hours per week over 8 weeks. It will be delivered in Dublin by SureSkills, an experienced professional training organisation, using a blended learning approach, with contingencies in place if that is not possible due to Covid restrictions. Support for the young women who participate will be provided by an ICS mentor, who will work in liaison with the trainers. The criteria for participation is that the young woman (18-29 years old) cannot currently be in employment, education or training. Participation in the project is completely free of charge.
ICS is recruiting participants for the first training courses to start in September. Linda Keane, ICS Strategy and Operations Manager says: ‘Given the upcoming release of the Leaving Certificate results I thought it might be of benefit for your principals to be aware of this initiative when offering advice to students as to their next steps. Perhaps Principals are already aware of students that might be suited to a short but targeted training programme for example, those who may not achieve sufficient marks for college or students without a plan for the coming year. Even those students who decide to defer their college place might be interested – they could embark on a Women4IT training programme in preparation to take up their college place next year or gain practical skills that could lead them directly to the workplace’.
The project is open to graduating secondary school students so long as they are at least 18 years old and not in employment or other training.