Burberry, Verizon Business and Unloc are joining forces to launch an event programme aimed at the development and empowerment of young women in the technology sector. The new initiative aims to challenge stereotypes within the male-dominated industry and develop the confidence, aspirations, life skills and career insights of young women aged between 15 to 19 years old.
Through a new events series, the three organisations will collaborate to provide the opportunity for young women to explore potential career options within the technology and fashion industry.
The four half-day events, held at Unloc’s Changemaker Studios space in London, will enable young people to explore a range of career opportunities within global organisations including Burberry and Verizon Business. They will also be connecting to their own local communities and schools.
Each event will welcome up to 30 young people from London-based schools and colleges, and will include executives from Burberry and Verizon Business who will share their career experiences. In addition an interactive ‘Changemaker Challenge’ will see small teams of young people team up to undertake various technology-related challenges, mentored and supported by a Burberry or Verizon Business executive.
During the Changemaker Challenge events, the participants will also have free access to Unloc’s range of Careers and Employability e-courses, encouraging their growth throughout the experience and beyond. This series of innovative events demonstrates Burberry, Verizon Business and Unloc’s continued commitment to giving back to their local communities.
Hayden Taylor, Unloc’s Managing Director said:
“Through this exciting new partnership we hope to encourage more and more young women into the tech sector, and raise their awareness of the wide range of careers which have historically been largely male dominated. It’s a real opportunity for professional growth, discovering enterprise, and opening their minds to the global possibilities in the technology market.”
“Thanks to the support and insight of our amazing partners on this project, Burberry, one of the world’s most renowned luxury fashion brands, and Verizon Business, a global giant in communications, we can provide valuable insight and advice that will help these young women move forwards in their career and trail-blaze the way for their peers.”
Sanjiv Gossain, Vice President – EMEA, Verizon Business said:
“At Verizon we are committed to nurturing and inspiring the next generation of leaders. Initiatives such as this programme with Burberry and Unloc provide an amazing opportunity for young talent to experience the workplace and explore how technology is the catalyst for future innovation. We can’t wait to see how this programme develops and the new opportunities it can provide for the talented participants.”
Mark Turner, Business Relationship Director, Burberry said:
“We are excited to be working with Verizon and Unloc to bring together promising young talent and inspire them to explore the possibilities of working in technology. We look forward to engaging with young women across the Changemaker Challenges, learning from their unique experiences while providing support, encouragement and mentorship to them as well.”
At the end of 2022, Unloc will hold a 2-hour curated roundtable event on the barriers and opportunities for young women in STEM careers. Several young people who have already participated in the Changemaker Challenge events will be selected to take part in this session, and the experience will be captured on film to share their insight with the world on social media.
Through innovative and change making programmes and events like this, the three organisations hope to support and broaden the skills of young women hoping to enter the technology industry, opening new avenues of possibility for future careers.
Notes for Journalists
Background
A report by PWC on Women in Tech looked at the experiences of 2,000 A-Level and university students in the UK. This highlights that the gender gap in technology starts at school and continues into further education and beyond. Key findings include:
Graduate Stats
According to data from the European Union’s statistics agency, Eurostat, males graduating in science, mathematics, computing, engineering, manufacturing and construction, outnumber female graduates almost two to one.
More females are now proceeding into higher education. However the rate of females graduating in STEM subjects, although increasing, is not increasing at the same rate of male pupils. According to UCAS data, just 35% of STEM students in UK higher education are women. The number of programmes concentrating on technology and digital transformation has increased and so has the number of male graduates meaning that little has changed when it comes to overall representation of female STEM graduates.
About Unloc & Changemaker Studios
Unloc was founded in 2013 by award-winning young leaders Hayden Taylor and Ben Dowling. The organisation’s mission is to empower young people to be innovative changemakers who seek to build stronger communities and sustainable businesses.
The organisation is focused on developing young people’s skills, enhancing their potential and boosting their determination to succeed. Unloc works towards achieving its mission by delivering inspiring educational programmes, including on entrepreneurship and self-employment, in our network of 100+ schools and colleges in the UK and beyond. To find out more about Unloc and all our latest news visit: unloc.org.uk/news
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About Burberry
About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology and communications services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $133.6 billion in 2021.
The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.
VERIZON’S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at verizon.com/news. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.
Unloc’s Programme Facilitator for Entrepreneurial Skills & Career Pathways, Christopher Amedu, recently represented Unloc at the Global Peter Drucker Forum in Vienna.
The Forum is an international management conference ran by the Peter Drucker Society Europe.
The conference is dedicated to Peter Drucker, (1909-2005) one of the most widely-known and influential thinkers on management, whose work continues to be used by managers’ worldwide. You can read more about Peter Drucker and his impact by clicking here.
Chris was kind enough to record his thoughts during the forum, so we thought we’d share them with you all too:
“My name is Christopher Amedu and I’m a Programme Facilitator here at Unloc. My job is to deliver inspiring programmes based on entrepreneurship and personal development to young people, to inspire, empower and help develop their potential.
The Global Peter Drucker Forum conference gathers the world’s leading management practitioners to talk about the world of work and how organisations can be improved to better serve humanity. The Forum is held annually each year in November, in Drucker’s home town of Vienna.
I was chosen for this opportunity because I finished as a Top 15 finalist in the global Drucker Essay Contest with my essay ‘A Journey to the Castle’. It was a fictional story illustrating the importance of fulfilling one’s personal potential.
This subject is one that I am truly so passionate about, and is one of the main reasons why I chose to work at Unloc. Meeting the fellow challenge winners was an incredible experience, I was able to meet fellow like-minded professionals who were also passionate about making a positive difference in the world.
At this year’s conference, the central debate focused on the future of human beings at work in the face of advancing technology and the rapidly developing world of AI which is making many businesses automated or performed by technology.
CEO’s management leaders and practitioners came up with insights as to how to best manage the inherent uncertainty in this area.
The session started with a warm welcome by the Austrian Federal Minister for Digital & Economic Affairs, and the President of the Global Peter Drucker Forum together with the conference chair and host.
As the conference went on, we participated in several plenary discussions. The main question that was asked was ‘what human strengths are needed to ensure that our technology/data-saturated societies and economies serve humanity well?’.
As rapidly advancing digital technology transforms the working environment we all exist within, questions inevitably arise where we as human beings will exist within many industries.
Some say human roles will be diminished; others insist that the growing possibilities of “data-driven” decisions and actions will call even more for people who can combine science with common sense.
The past years’ experience of global pandemic has thrown such questions into high relief, whether in organizations choosing to invest more heavily in automation or among policymakers implored to simply ‘follow the science.’
We can expect economic, fiscal, cultural, and political crises to escalate in the wake of Covid, and the tension between the technocratic and the humanistic forces to reach a breaking point.
The former see a time of upheaval as an opportune moment to force a large-scale “reset” to a system currently flawed in many ways.
The latter reject revolutionary redesign as counter to human nature – which craves, as Peter Drucker put it, a balance between ‘change and continuity’. Which is the best way forward, and how can we ensure that it prevails?
It’s not a topic or debate i’ve participated in before, and it was so enlightening to hear the views of everyone else attending, and inspiring to consider such an important topic alongside my peers, and hear their thoughts and observations on the topic.
These kinds of conversations i’m sure will become more prevalent as we move forwards into a future where technology plays an even bigger role in our everyday lives – and the impact of that plays out in our society.
A key quote that stood out to me during this year’s event was ‘Be kind to peers, the planet, humanity and yourself’ by Patricia Pomies, the Chief Operating Officer at Globant. Something we often lose amongst the busy working lives we all are consumed by at times.
I’m extremely grateful to Richard Straub for organising the Peter Drucker Forum, which was brilliantly hosted by Eduardo P. Braun and Katharina Moser. I feel extremely privileged to have attended this year’s event, and to have represented my Unloc colleagues and our organisation.”
To find out more about the Peter Drucker Forum simply click here!
Young people in the Solent region are expanding and developing their technology skills thanks to our new Enterprise Days programme in partnership with Portsmouth based software developer company Radweb Ltd.
The programme is designed to inspire young people to consider careers in technology and website development whilst also developing their entrepreneurial skills and ambitions.
As part of the roll-out, a series of technology-focused Enterprise Days are taking place in primary schools across the region, with the aim of opening their pupil’s eyes to potential careers in the sector.
Each event tasks the young people to design a technological solution to a local problem that they care about. They then work with the Unloc team to develop a concept, design a prototype and then present their ideas to an expert panel, including members of the Radweb team.
The programme is helping to address the root causes of the UK’s technology skills shortage early on. Youth Employment UK estimates that hi-tech roles such as software programmers and developers have increased by 72% since 2011, but there simply aren’t enough suitably skilled young people to fill all those roles.
The European Commission has suggested that the European economy is short of 900,000 ICT professionals already.
As well as addressing careers in technology, the project aims to develop participants’ confidence, problem-solving, communication and entrepreneurial skills, encouraged by the experts from Radweb Ltd and Unloc.
The programme has already been making a significant impact, with initial events at Mayville High School and Northern Parade Junior School.
Radweb Managing Director, Steve Rad, commented:
“We are extremely honoured and proud to be working on programmes that have a direct influence and impact on children’s education, helping to inspire them to consider a career path in technology.
We have been working with the team at Unloc for many years on various projects and as a Portsmouth based company, we have been equally inspired by the students and teachers involved in the Enterprise Days programme and see these initiatives as our way to give something back to this great city”.
Hayden Taylor, Managing Director of Unloc, said
“Working with Radweb in the past, we know what a brilliantly talented team of designers, programmers and marketing experts they are, and to partner with them to deliver this important programme to schools ensures that the young people attending have the very best support.”
“Our Enterprise Day programme addresses a crucial talent shortage in the region, and the skills and abilities they develop during these events can make a lasting impact upon the young people attending, one which may influence their future career choices, and open up a world of possibilities to them”.
About Radweb Ltd
Radweb was founded in 2007 by Steve Rad and James Taylor, both of whom graduated from the University of Portsmouth with degrees in Digital Media Marketing and Computer Science and a passion for all things technical.
Over the year’s the business has developed into a team of 28 passionate, qualified specialists, from designers to programmers to marketing experts and sales. Radweb are experts in finding creative solutions for interactive website applications, real estate software, eCommerce and digital marketing.
About Unloc
Unloc was founded in 2013 by award-winning young leaders and advocates Hayden
Taylor and Ben Dowling. Our mission is to empower young people to be innovative changemakers who seek to build stronger communities and sustainable businesses.
We develop young people’s skills, enhance their potential and boost their determination to succeed. This is encapsulated in our Developing Young Potential tagline. We work towards our mission by delivering inspiring educational programmes in our growing network of schools and colleges. In the 2018-19 academic year, Unloc’s programme reach increased by over 40% on the previous year to 10,910 young people.
We work with many organisations to provide the many experiences, courses & opportunities we offer. This year we wanted to take some time to recognise one of these important organisations, The Marketors’.
Student voice has been at the heart of celebrations as we celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Council of Portsmouth Students (CoPS).
Our new series ‘Courses Up Close’ looks more in-depth at some of of our programmes, courses & bootcamps. Our first is our Leadership Academy. Click for more!
As applications begin to flood in, we caught up with our 2024 Winner Ethan Waisberg to reflect on the process and how he found the whole experience.
We work with many organisations to provide the many experiences, courses & opportunities we offer. This year we wanted to take some time to recognise one of these important organisations, The Marketors’.
Student voice has been at the heart of celebrations as we celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Council of Portsmouth Students (CoPS).
Our new series ‘Courses Up Close’ looks more in-depth at some of of our programmes, courses & bootcamps. Our first is our Leadership Academy. Click for more!
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