Impact Report 2023/24: Inspiring careers in tech

Our vision is a world where every young person has the skills to shape their future. As set out in our Theory of Change, an understanding of how technology can benefit society and broader career ambitions are important short-term outcomes of our courses that, in turn, lead to more young people, especially girls, and others from underrepresented backgrounds, choosing to study computing and pursuing tech careers.

Encounters with industry are a key way in which our courses contribute to those outcomes, therefore they are a strategic focus for us here at Apps for Good. We know that many schools and students get insights into tech careers through engaging with Industry Volunteers via our Industry Engagement sessions and Showcase, and we actively encourage take-up of these opportunities. In 2023/24, we also delivered additional, bespoke activities to provide even more opportunities for students to gain an insight into careers that can inform their decisions on next steps. Activities included:

• Summer Skills Day with BNY: We support BNY, one of our funding partners, with this annual event for young people. Part of the experience involves a condensed version of our Innovate for Climate Change course, and young people presented their ideas to a panel of "dragons" from BNY at the end of the day. This year, 60 students took part.

• Lunch & Learn webinar on Girls in ICT Day: We convened a webinar to mark Girls in ICT day, which was attended by funders, partners, and schools. Female students from Lea Manor High School and Putteridge High School hosted a panel discussion with teachers and industry professionals about their own early experiences with technology, and how they think we can encourage more girls and young women to pursue digital careers.

• EmPower Cyber event: Run by one of our funding partners Sage, this event aims to encourage more girls to consider a career in tech. We worked alongside 40 other companies delivering a carousel of tech-based activities to year 8 students from Newcastle and surrounding areas. We delivered the app design sprint, based on our App for Social Action course - 12 times, reaching around 130 students.

• Visits to our corporate partners: Spotify hosted 20 year 10 students from The St Marylebone CE School and BNY hosted two student teams from Dunoon Grammar School. Students had tours, attended careers talks from staff and took part in activities set by the companies.

Students tell us regularly that their Apps for Good experience influences their aspirations and increases their interest in a tech career. For team Empowerly, from Bradford Grammar School, the social action focus was a key driver. Maria told us that she’s always been interested in technology, but since doing the course feels “more interested in how it impacts society, and how technology can really, really change the way things work.” Teammate Priya is planning on studying Computer Science at university, saying that the entrepreneurial side of the course “has impacted what sector I want to go into and made me realise that I want to do computer science or coding to help others."

For other students, the practical nature of the course - the fact that they came away with an actual prototype app they’d built themselves - developed their confidence in computing and made the pathway more realistic for them. Will, a student at the John Beddoes Campus, Newtown High School said that before the course, “I didn't really have a lot of interest in taking anything to do with computers and IT” but since doing the course “I feel quite confident that I can be okay at it, and maybe I could have a career in it.” Manar, from The St Marylebone CE School, told us she intends to choose computing at GCSE level because “the Apps for Good course has made computing a lot more fun for me” due to the creative opportunities it provided.

Manar’s teacher, Sathish Sivasubramanian, brilliantly summarised the combination of elements within Apps for Good courses that support the long-term outcomes we want to see, which comes through clearly in the students’ feedback above. He said, “When students work on projects that matter to them, they show remarkable enthusiasm and dedication. They are motivated by the opportunity to make a positive impact, and this often sparks a lasting interest in social change. This experience has shown them the power of technology to drive positive change and has encouraged them to pursue further studies and careers in this field.”

While we have a wealth of qualitative data showing how our courses influence students’ future plans, it’s harder to measure this quantitatively and at scale. We also know that take-up of Industry Engagement sessions and entry into Showcase aren’t always easy for schools and teachers with so many demands on their time and resources. Over the last few months, we’ve looked closely at how we measure students’ intentions at the end of a course, potential opportunities for tracking their actual next steps to see how those intentions play out, and how to make Industry Engagement even more accessible for the schools we support. With support from The Hg Foundation, we’re excited to be working with the Institute for Employment Studies on an independent evaluation of our App for Social Action course. This includes collaborating with schools to collect data on what subjects Apps for Good participants go on to choose after their course ends.

However, we recognise that this is a complex picture. Many other factors influence students’ subject choices - not least the structure of options available to them and how optional subjects interact with compulsory ones - and not studying Computing doesn’t preclude young people from pursuing a tech career.

That’s why in 2024/25 we will engage even more with Apps for Good alumni, to learn more about their trajectory and influences since school. We’ve also updated the questions we ask in our student surveys, asking students to rate their level of interest in studying computing or pursuing a tech career, rather than simply asking if they want to. This will give us a more nuanced view of how far the course influences their intentions and aspirations.

Finally, as well as continuing to support schools to take part in Industry Engagement sessions and entering our annual Showcase, we will be broadening our career insights offer in 2024/25, offering more opportunities for schools and students to hear from and engage with our inspiring pool of Industry Volunteers. Watch this space and make sure you’re following us on LinkedIn to hear more about these exciting opportunities!