Impact Report 2023/24: Inspired by industry

Engaging with industry can inspire young people to reach their potential, providing them with career role models who might not ordinarily be available to them. For many young people, the plethora of career opportunities are unknown, so the more opportunities there are to learn from employers about work and the skills required, the better.

The Good Career Guidance Report and subsequent Gatsby Benchmarks provide guidance to schools when setting their own careers programmes. However, many teachers simply don’t have their own connections to industry, so welcome the opportunities embedded within Apps for Good courses.

A decade on from creating the Gatsby Benchmarks, Sir John Holman reflected that “these high-quality inputs lead to improved outcomes, such as increased career readiness, better study choices, more motivated young people and a reduction in those young people who become NEET [Not in Education, Employment, or Training].”

Effective careers guidance requires cross-sector collaboration and in the OECD’s report Dream jobs?: Teenagers’ Career Aspirations and the Future of Work, Charles Yidan highlights the role of employers; “Never before has there been a greater onus on employers to step up and work with schools to help young people understand jobs and careers and help teachers bring learning to life.”

While the need to inspire careers in the digital economy is clear, positive representation and diversity is paramount to achieving both equality and social mobility. In their Manifesto for Generational Change, Tech She Can also highlight the need for closer working between education and industry - with a specific focus on gender and disadvantage, stating that, “Our research shows that gender and disadvantage have a negative multiplying effect and harmful gender stereotypes of STEM careers start young - before primary age.”

We must ensure there are opportunities for all young people, regardless of their background. Nominet’s Digital Youth Index notes that young people living in urban areas are much more likely to aspire to a career requiring advanced digital skills. The report also finds “young people who are disabled, belong to minority ethnic groups and/or are in the care system are disproportionately impacted by digital poverty.” While The Sutton Trust states that good advice and information on future careers, is “...a core element of social mobility. Students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are less likely to have access to a wide range of knowledge and guidance from family and friends or to have networks which provide an insight into a range of career options. Good quality careers guidance can help to level the playing field.”

We’re fortunate to have a strong community of partners at Apps for Good. As well as providing funding that enables schools to access our introductory courses for free, they garner support from their employees to become our Industry Volunteers. In the 2023/24 academic year, 315 active volunteers from 46 companies provided feedback and support to Apps for Good students.

Embedded into each course, our Industry Engagement sessions and annual Showcase celebration provide opportunities for schools to meet their career targets. These opportunities align with Gatsby Benchmarks 4 & 5 by linking curriculum learning to careers and giving every pupil opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills they’ll need. These career interventions effectively broaden a student’s ‘computer science capital’. Ensuring that our volunteers come from a diverse set of backgrounds, pathways and tech roles can encourage more girls and those from underrepresented groups to see themselves in the Industry Volunteers they meet, inspiring them to be part of a new generation of skilled tech employees.

In 2023/24, even more young people benefitted from engaging with Industry Volunteers through their Apps for Good course. As well as continuing to connect schools with our pool of volunteers for virtual Industry Engagement and Career Sessions, we saw an increase in the number of students entering our annual Showcase - 193 teams compared to last year’s 159. This meant that over 660 young people received personalised feedback on their app prototypes from people currently working in the digital economy. There were 4,291 reviews altogether (almost double last year’s total!) thanks to our 232 brilliant shortlisting volunteers.

These elements of our courses continue to be extremely valuable for schools. 100% of teachers who completed our survey following their Industry Engagement or Careers Session rated it as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’, and they all said that the session was useful or very useful in addressing their students’ needs. One teacher commented, “The students and staff found the engagement with someone who is an expert both exciting and informative. The experts were really good with the young people they spoke to, accounting for age and nervousness”.

Spotlight on Chiltern Learning Trust

We’re proud to work closely with this multi-academy trust, which comprises eighteen schools across Luton and Bedfordshire. Industry Engagement is a core part of their approach to delivering our Innovate for Climate Change course. In 2023/24, students took part in ideation sessions with volunteers, entered Showcase, and also enjoyed the second Climate Change and Digital Innovation Summit (CCADIS), organised by the Trust with support from Apps for Good. CCADIS brought together students from 16 schools, industry partners and volunteers working in the digital economy, to enable students across the Trust to present their climate app ideas, and gain an insight into tech careers through a panel discussion with Industry Volunteers.

Click here to read the full case study on Chiltern Learning Trust.

Impact on volunteers

This impact on students would not be possible without the generous support of the 315 Industry Volunteers who worked with Apps for Good students in 2023/24, and we are delighted that they also develop personally and professionally through taking part. We asked this year’s shortlisters what they gained from reviewing prototype apps and providing feedback, and the top three benefits they cited were: Being inspired by young people, increased engagement in volunteering, and increased experience supporting young people.

For Fabiana, our 2024 Volunteer of the Year, volunteering with Apps for Good has increased her job satisfaction. Fabiana is Head of Creative and Production at Novakid, and she told us that volunteering has “made me love what I do even more.” Miles, Software Engineer at LEGO, reflected that he was “blown away” by the students’ ideas and that the benefits of volunteering went beyond feeling inspired, helping him also develop useful skills for the future: "Over the years, I've been able to improve the way that I give feedback so that it is constructive... and that actually helps me in my work, when I have to give feedback to my colleagues”.

Miles also felt proud of the way in which Apps for Good inspired the tech innovators of the future, which comes through in his words of wisdom for fellow volunteers: “You're there to let the young people know that their ideas are not only valid, and not only to be listened to, but they are important. And if even one person from that classroom of 30 ends up doing something great afterwards, that's a success.”

This year’s volunteers represented 46 different companies. If you’d like to explore whether yours could help Apps for Good continue to inspire young people, please get in touch today!