The power of perception: Why a tech job should no longer be perceived as a job in tech
3 min read
As human beings we so often yearn to be young again, and recapture our youth. Whilst living in the moment is my mantra, that resolve gets tested when I look at the fantastic opportunities which are available to the next generation in the technology space. 900,000 further tech jobs will be required across the EU every year by 2020; undoubtedly a challenge for the tech industry to fill such a skills gap, but an amazing chance for our young people, many of which who will be receiving their A-Level results today, to transform and enhance lives through technology.
If the career opportunities for young people are endless, and so are the demand for job applicants, one could be forgiven for asking what the challenge is. Ultimately, the problem is one of perception. Typically, when looking at a career in technology, young people too often perceive it as just a job behind a desk, coding. Today there will be hundreds of thousands of 18 and 19 year olds opening their A-level results and planning for the next stage of their lives, who will sadly have overlooked technology as an exciting career-path to follow. It would be unfair to cast judgement on the next generation for holding such an opinion, like most stereotypes in life there is an underlying truth to it, albeit outdated, which can be stubborn to be removed or at least changed somewhat.
To overcome this ‘PR problem’ requires government, business and educators to work collaboratively. Together we must nurture the skills of the next creative generation, and it’s imperative we re-educate the educators. IT subjects need to be seen less as learning purely about programming and more as learning about technology; and how it impacts on business, economics and society at large.
Having started my career as computer programmer at Philips, perhaps my admiration towards coding is biased, but as a skillset it does open fantastic opportunities for young people. Like maths, coding encourages logical thinking, problem solving and decision making, but to be a good programmer also requires excellent communication skills. The key for the industry is to demonstrate a clear link between having a coding skillset and building a career as Chief Innovation Officer for example. If we can make the path clear, then it will be left with the next generation to decide whether they wish to follow it.
The emergence of the Internet of Everything and innovations in areas such as wearable technology and big data are changing what a job in IT actually means. Whatever your passion – fashion, sport, animals – technology is increasingly going to be a part of it. As a keen triathlete, sport holds a close place to my heart; however I do not have to embrace this passion just outside the workplace. At Cisco, we have delivered the network infrastructure for the world’s largest sporting events, including the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, ensuring the billions of viewers around the world don’t miss a second of the action.
Recently my colleague and active conservationist, Sarah Eccleston, Director, Enterprise Networks and Internet of Things (IoT) at Cisco UKI, set out on a mission to connect elephants to the Internet in an effort to reduce ivory poaching. Applying her knowledge of IoT, Sarah travelled to Zambia and has started to make this happen. These are just two examples demonstrating why a tech job is no longer a job in tech.
Role models are essential to encouraging young people to consider a career in technology. High profile role models, such as Martha Lane Fox, are undeniably very powerful, but they’re not the only ones. At Cisco I encourage our graduates and apprentices to visit schools as much as possible, to help challenge preconceived ideas students may have of what tech workers look like and the vast array of work they undertake on a daily basis.
The role of role models is particularly important when encouraging young females to a job in technology. At Cisco we are continually encouraging diversity with our next generation of employees, and particularly to attract not only more young people, but and women into the technology sector. Our apprenticeship scheme, for example, has to date achieved a 65:35 gender split; considering the general industry slant is closer to 80:20 male to female, we’re extremely proud of this achievement, but the more we grow the programme the harder this is to achieve year on year
Whilst having children of tomorrow wanting to be coders ‘when they grow up’ and speaking like this about a job as a Data Centre Manager would be what we should strive for, this will take time. But to help fill the present skills void, we need a concerted effort from all. As a tech industry of businesses, educators and government, we must clearly communicate and demonstrate the amazing opportunities a technology career can present; working in a creative and evolving workspace and touching every walk of life. Only then will that existing perception shift to make way for a well-deserved, new one.
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I’m a student just done GCSE and doing networking in college is there any grades which you would prefer
Hi Abbass, Sorry for the delay in responding. We don’t require specific grades in networking. We’re currently revisiting the requirements for the next round of apprenticeships in the UK. Look on cisco.com for more information as it is released.