US tech giant Apple has teamed up with a UK-based organization to inspire more young women to pursue careers in technology.
Apple is partnering with the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF), a non-profit organization that aims to fill the gap in the electronics industry's talent pool, to promote the Girls into Electronics initiative.
Electronics and semiconductors are essential to solving society's major problems, such as climate change, improved healthcare, and better connection. Girls into Electronics and similar programs are crucial in getting more students from underrepresented groups interested in electronics engineering.
Program Significance
As first reported by Evening Standard, the program will be supported by 15 top colleges in the UK. The courses will provide 400 young women, ages 15 to 18, with an introduction to careers in the electronics sector, including semiconductor design and manufacturing.
The goal is to increase the number of young women entering the business in order to close the gap between the genders and the level of expertise in the field.
The two groups highlighted the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) data to reveal that only 3,245 students sought degrees in electronic and electrical engineering in the UK in 2021, with only around 335 of those students being female.
To put it simply, the UK economy could not function without the electronics industry. The semiconductor business is the world's fourth biggest, and the worldwide compound semiconductor market is expected to reach $136 billion by 2024, with the UK holding an 8% share of the market. However, there is a greater need compared to the supply of qualified recent graduates in the job market.
Students may sign up for the program's events, which will be held in June and July, via the UKESF website. Bristol, Imperial College London, Leeds, and Southampton universities-among the best in the UK-are all taking part.
Cooperative Effort
UKESF CEO Stew Edmondson stated, "Many students touch upon Electronics in their Physics and Computer Science lessons at school, but the breadth, complexity, and importance of the field [are] often not fully understood."
He also emphasized that because of this program, more young people will have the chance to explore this intriguing and creative field and become aware of the many rewarding career paths that may lead to a career in Electronics Engineering.
According to Apple's European inclusion and diversity partnerships lead Mari-Anne Chiromo: "We believe education can be a powerful force for equity and help provide young women with the tools and opportunity to pursue a rewarding career in hardware engineering. We're thrilled to be working with the UKESF on this important initiative to encourage more women from all backgrounds to study electronic engineering and improve the current gender imbalance in the field."
