PDMS joins Digital Critical Friends Programme in Lanarkshire

PDMS is pleased to announce that it is the latest company to sign up to the Digital Critical Friends Programme in Lanarkshire.

The programme is a partnership between tech sector body ScotlandIS, Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Glasgow and Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Lanarkshire. Created to bridge the skills gap by helping industry form a valuable relationship with a local school, the programme ultimately aims to inspire more young people to pursue a career in tech.

PDMS volunteers will be matched with a local secondary school for twelve months. Meeting up online and hopefully in person too for regular informal conversations, we can provide an insight into the projects we are working on and the areas where we see upcoming demand for digital and technical skills.

By spending time together and sharing knowledge and experiences of the tech sector with teachers delivering computer science, we can help build knowledge of industry current practice and emerging tech and share this with the students.  

The initiative is a direct response to last year’s Technology Ecosystem Review by Mark Logan which recommended that computer science be treated as a core school subject in the same way as maths and physics.

By pairing teachers and industry, we can hopefully keep the computing curriculum both relevant and interesting.

Fiona Anderson, the first volunteer from PDMS, commented:

This is a fantastic opportunity to help shape the teaching and learning experiences within one of my local schools.  The programme will help avoid a disconnect between what is taught in schools and the knowledge required by local businesses like ours.  If I can play a small role in encouraging more young people, especially more female pupils, to take computer science that would be a great outcome.