BCS supports Tech London 500 initiative

28 Jul 2015 03:00 PM

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT is supporting the Tech London 500 an initiative seeking to place this year’s crop of school and college leavers into digital apprenticeships.

The initiative will see small and medium London firms offered the opportunity to pledge a vacancy and have the first pick of digital talent leaving school and college this July. A pre-screened talent pool of 500 candidates, aged 16 plus, will be launched to the market by a consortium of apprenticeship providers under the banner of Tech London 500.

Jon Buttriss, CEO of BCS L&D Ltd, part of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT says: “This is a great initiative and we’re delighted to be supporting it. It’s vital that we encourage more young people to consider IT as a career option; the UK is heading for a massive IT skills gap and apprenticeships are a part of the solution to that gap.”

A webinar hosted by Tim Campbell from The Apprentice, explaining the scheme will air 4pm on Monday 27 July. Register now at: http://j.mp/Tech_London_500. This will be followed on Tuesday 28 July, by the launch of a free telephone hotline: 0808-901-20-44 (Freephone) 0333-012-4842 (if using mobile). Digital hopefuls will be manning the service alongside their training providers.

Apprenticeship Ambassador, Tim Campbell, says: “There is so much tech and creative talent out there waiting to be given this opportunity. It’s down to us to provide the gateway to employers.”

The first 500 businesses to phone in will be eligible to apply for a free service to find candidates to fill apprenticeship positions in IT and digital marketing, (tech support, web/mobile design and development, video and social media) within just 2 to 6 weeks. The initiative will culminate in a speed networking event for all winners, at the invitation of the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, on 29 September at City Hall.

Consortium Leader and CEO Creative Pioneers™ London, Andrew Carmichael, adds: “We see young people every week who are digital native, analytical, highly connected through social media and born digital content creators. Our job is to make it quick and easy to match our talent to employer needs, and make the process simple.”

The Tech London 500 talent drive for London is championed by Russ Shaw of Tech London Advocates and supported by the GLA and the new tech portal tech.london.

Consortium members include Creative Pioneers™ London, IPA, BIMA, Just IT, Creative Skillset, CompTIA, Tech Partnership and BCS The Chartered Institute for IT.

Russ Shaw, Founder Tech London Advocates, says: “London needs young tech talent to increase productivity and take advantage of the substantial digital job vacancies that exist, ensuring that London maintains a leadership position as the Digital Capital of Europe. Every business can gain by taking on young people to optimize its digital infrastructure and enhance its depth of tech knowledge.”

London employer and Tech London 500 convert Mark Williams, CEO, Pensar says: “This is a great way to get the pick of the crop of young tech talent, at the point in the year when they are hungry to find work.”

About the offer

The Tech London 500 initiative offers the first 500 eligible businesses instant access to a pool of selected work-ready candidates, a free matching service and support for both the apprentice and the employer before, during and after the apprenticeship. Training will also be offered free to the employer in most cases (Level 3).

About Tech London Advocates 

Tech London Advocates is a private sector led coalition of over 1,800 expert individuals from the tech sector and broader community who have committed to championing London’s potential as a world-class hub for tech and digital businesses. It strives to support London’s tech start-ups and high-growth businesses in finding new investment, new talent and continued success.

The Consortium is led by Creative Pioneers™ London, is a unique collaboration between: 

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