GIRL POWER
YMCA and Guides are offering hi-tech courses
Two Paisley youth groups have joined forces to help more girls become boffins.
The YMCA and Girlguiding Paisley want to help girls get into STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects.
And the two charities plan to replicate this partnership across other communities in Scotland.
As revealed in the Paisley Daily Express, the YMCA – which is based in the High Street and William Street – developed an award- winning youth program that focuses on digital literacy and exploits the use of ‘disruptive technologies’, which displace established technology and creates a new industry.
The YMCA runs weekly code clubs and digital skills workshops.
However, the Christian organisation noticed an astonishing 90 per cent of the young people who attended these clubs were male.
And in a bid to address the gender imbalance, Darran Gillan, the Youth & Community Development Manager at Paisley YMCA, got funding to start a STEM for Girls club.
After a year the club was well attended and Paisley YMCA started looking beyond its own network of clubs to engage even more girls in STEM subjects.
And that is where the Paisley’s Girl Guides came in.
Girlguiding Scotland revealed that 52 per cent of girls aged 11 to 21 thought STEM subjects were more for boys.
In an effort to change this, last year Girlguiding Scotland launched its first digital skills badge, in partnership with Skills Development Scotland. The Digital Scotland Challenge badge aims to change those perceptions and teaches young girls about computers, algorithms, creativity, design, and computational thinking, as well as highlighting career options in the industry.
Paisley YMCA approached Girlguiding Paisley to offer its expertise and equipment to help girls work towards their badge.
Darran Gillan said: “Through this partnership, we are debunking the myth that STEM is a boy’s subject.
“We hope to develop a new generation of female role models and leaders to emerge both through Paisley YMCA and Girlguiding Paisley.
“We are grateful that we are able to provide a comprehensive range of computer science skills that will lead some of the participants out of poverty and deprivation.”
Milly Mackinnon, Girlguiding Paisley Division Commissioner said the organisation was excited to be working with YMCA Paisley to help girls achieve their badge.
“Their state-of-the-art premises has fabulous facilities in the centre of town,” she said.
“We are hopeful that we can extend our partnership beyond the badge and make use of their experience and facilities. We want to encourage Girlguiding Paisley members to think about how they can play a part in Scotland’s digital future.”
YMCA Scotland and Girlguiding Scotland now hope to launch similar partnerships across Scotland.
Earlier this month Perth YMCA was awarded funding from Young Start to expand their digital youth work.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney visited the project.
He said: “Developing Scotland’s STEM talent and capability is key to future economic growth. Equity is one of the key themes in our STEM Strategy for Education, which promotes action to encourage a better gender balance in STEM subjects and careers.
“I welcome the efforts of Paisley YMCA and Girlguiding Paisley.
“Their partnership is paving the way for organisations across the country to encourage more girls to take up coding and develop digital skills.”
We hope to develop a new generation of female role models and leaders