The Digital Technology Education Charter was inspired first by computer science teacher Toni Scullion when he noticed the subject slipping out of the curriculum. The charter picked up speed and now has attracted more than 60 organisations including Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and the University of Glasgow. 

According to the charter, there were 766 computer science teachers and 25,000 pupils in 2008 compared to 595 teachers and less than 10,000 pupils in 2020. On the backdrop of this decline in education, 75% of employers are experiencing difficulty in recruiting qualified staff according to ScotlandIS. 

Research by Adzuna also identified that more than 13% of all jobs in Scotland are in the digital sector, a 10-year high. Scotland is also part of the world’s third largest tech ecosystem in the world, the UK brought in more than £12 billion in venture capital funding last year. 

According to the charter organisers, there are 13,000 new digital jobs, and through apprenticeships and graduates, only 5000 of those vacancies will be filled. “Inspiring pupils at a young age is crucial to filling this skills gap,” said Scullion. “For a sector that is increasingly touching every aspect of everyday life this is completely mad.”

Recommended

• Barclays Eagle Labs Unveils Digital Growth Grant Plans
• University of Edinburgh AI Accelerator Applications Open
• Edinburgh on the Rise as European Data Capital

The charter will use industry and academia leaders together to see what more can be done to inspire the next generation into computing. According to the executive director of technology at Morgan Stanley, Eve Wallace, there is an outdated perception and lack of awareness of the opportunities which she says inhibits people from building careers in the industry. 

Dr. Matt Barr at the University of Glasgow is among many involved with the charter who believes targeting pupils at a young age is critical to building awareness about opportunities in the field. “Getting the message across about the range and variety of career options computing science opens the door to is not being done effectively at the moment, with the next generation potentially missing out on well paid fulfilling careers. Hopefully working together with industry through the Charter we can help reverse this,” he said.