Challenge

Bristol’s tech industry is a fast-growing, and thriving local sector, with digital, science, and tech roles now making up 13.4% of all jobs in the city (Centre for Cities). However, individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds remain significantly underrepresented, with only 9% of the UK’s tech workforce coming from these groups compared to 39% of the overall population (upReach).  

This disparity highlights the need for targeted interventions to ensure Bristol’s expanding tech sector becomes more inclusive and accessible to all.  

As a technology and engineering consultancy, we are committed to delivering initiatives that address these challenges and empower young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue careers in technology. 

Solution

Our longstanding partnership with Bristol WORKS enables us to support Bristol City Council’s ambitions of inspiring and supporting young people locally with fantastic experiences of work to equip them to make the best career choices. The programme particularly targets young people most at risk of ‘being left behind’ to ensure we deliver highly impactful outreach. 

Outcome

A fantastic example of our work in the community was our collaboration with a local school in Bristol, which supports children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). 

Our Bristol corporate social responsibility (CSR) team designed a tailored workshop to accommodate different learning styles and levels of understanding around technology. The goal was to introduce students to digital careers, explore the skills and attributes needed for various roles, and highlight pathways into the tech industry. 

The day included an interactive Q&A session where students eagerly asked about everything from the daily life of a developer to pay scales and work-life balance. The session helped demystify tech careers and bust common myths. 

The highlight of the workshop was the 'create your own game' challenge. Students took on the role of a game designer, developing basic digital skills in application design and development in a fun and engaging way. To ensure inclusivity, the content and delivery were carefully adapted to suit a range of abilities and working styles, for example, offering students 1-2-1 support from volunteers to ensure they could ask questions and get ongoing prompts and support. 

The results were fantastic, with games ranging from creative security solutions to Dinosaur Street Fighting and even a Justin Bieber-themed adventure. The energy and engagement throughout the day were incredible, showcasing the students' creativity and potential in the digital world. 

The school provided the following feedback: 

"I thought the session was excellent you were all brilliant with the students and changed your level of explanation to ensure it was accessible. You engaged the young people by making the resources and slides simple and relatable.  

I really appreciated how you all worked one on one with the class to make sure they stayed on track and understood the task. I think this session would be great for lots of the SEND learners across Bristol.  

Thank you again for your continued support but especially for doing this session - we and the school really appreciate it."

Executive Head Teacher of a Bristol WORKS school partner. 

Learn more about our Social Value Strategy.