BCS urges alternative routes to IT careers
'A' Levels are not a prerequisite to closing the IT skills gap despite the increase in pass marks, society says.
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The British Computer Society (BCS) has revealed a modest increase in the number of applications for computer science undergraduate courses this year.
The news comes as a bumper number of students gained A-C grades at A Level this week.
A Level students and other young people who have not set on a career direction are being urged to consider going into IT by the BCS.
The membership organisation for IT professionals also hopes to encourage young people - and young women in particular - who have not taken the traditional route of science-based A Levels and university, to investigate the variety of ways into the industry.
The BCS said there are a variety of routes into an IT career including part-time courses, work placements, or studying an IT-related subject at university.
It cited IBM consultant and chair of the BCS Young Professional Group (YPG) Jennifer Hewitt, aged 26, as a good example of somebody who took a non-traditional route into computing, and who is now enjoying a satisfying career with a blue chip company.
She said: "When I left school I never imagined that I would be working in IT."
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After leaving school at 16, Hewitt became interested by computing while working at Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. Later she got a job with Business Link as an information analyst. Having taken several part-time study qualifications, Jennifer was accepted onto an IT-related course at the University of Gloucestershire. And after achieving a first class degree in Information Systems with Computing, she was recruited by IBM.
A 25-year veteran enterprise technology expert, Miya Knights applies her deep understanding of technology gained through her journalism career to both her role as a consultant and as director at Retail Technology Magazine, which she helped shape over the past 17 years. Miya was educated at Oxford University, earning a master’s degree in English.
Her role as a journalist has seen her write for many of the leading technology publishers in the UK such as ITPro, TechWeekEurope, CIO UK, Computer Weekly, and also a number of national newspapers including The Times, Independent, and Financial Times.
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