Bridgeport High School girls encouraged to pursue ICT careers
WITH MANY students holding firm to career dreams of becoming lawyers, doctors and accountants, Digicel Business account manager Steffyann Brown Bisnauth visited Bridgeport High School with the goal of further exposing a group of young ladies there to the variety of careers that are available in the field of information and communication technology (ICT).
“A lot of students these days are either so focused on the traditional careers that they often miss opportunities to prepare themselves for many of the rewarding ICT careers that emerge each day,” said Brown Bisnauth. “So, for Girls in ICT Day, we thought it would make a lot of sense to come and just rap with the young ladies, get an understanding of what their goals and plans are, and use the day to help open their eyes to some of the careers that are now available in the field.”
Citing the European Commission, Brown Bisnauth noted that the ICT sector generates over 120,000 new jobs each year. She also mentioned the fact that while more ICT jobs become available each year, only 29 out of every 1,000 females graduate with an ICT-related degree.
She added, “It’s surprising to see that the misconception that ICT careers are just filled by people who sit around and program computers each day, is still so prevalent; so we spoke to the young ladies about how ICT training can give them the added advantage in traditional careers and even make them more suitable for new ICT-driven roles across a number of industries, not just computing.”
Challenging the young ladies to draft a five-year career plan during the session, Brown Bisnauth and her team helped the students to devise practical, step-by-step plans, while discussing tertiary education options, internships, and even scholarships and financing options.
“Our young ladies have the potential to make an impact on the field of ICT,” said Brown Bisnauth, “but they need better guidance and mentorship from early, so I’m very happy that my team from Digicel was able to help in this way, and we look forward to continue working with students in this way.”