Computerworld

NZTech, MIT seek more industry participants for Shadow IT programme

The programme gives high school female students the chance to shadow technology professionals for a day to get a better understanding of the workplace and career choices available in IT.

The New Zealand Technology Industry Association (NZTech) and Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT)have teamed up to create Shadow IT, a programme aimed at exposing school-age women to the benefits of the a career in IT.

The programme gives high school female students the chance to shadow technology professionals for a day to get a better understanding of the workplace and career choices available in IT.

This launch year the day for the programme is set at August 27th, and both organisations are encouraging industry participants to register and extend employee time for the day to support the programme.

“Women are under-represented in IT and it’s important to showcase the exciting prospects in the industry while these young women are making their career choices.

“We want more young female school leavers to pursue a career in IT. By spending a day in the life of an IT professional, the young women will see firsthand how interesting and diverse the career options are,” says Candace Kinser, CEO of NZTech.

“We already have several organisations registered for the programme, including Vend, Datacom, Vodafone, NZTE, ECONZ, Critchlow, Koordinates, Air New Zealand,The Instillery and ACE training, among others. We are however keen to get more,” she adds.

“We need industry volunteers across the entire spectrum of IT roles, from the executive level down to the nuts-and-bolts developers and programmers. Once the registration process is done, we will be matching these with students, based on their aspirations and their interest areas in technology,” says Edwina Mistry, MIT’s industry and community engagement manager.

While this year the focus is on Auckland, the organisations are keen to take the programme to other cities in the coming years.

Employers can register for the Shadow IT programme here until the 21st of July (Monday).