Last week marked the completion of this year’s ‘Meet The Learner’ programme, a pioneering initiative which has been taking positive action to address the digital skills gap in Scotland by encouraging young people to move into digital technology roles.
Dumfries & Galloway College and Borders College, supported by the Scottish Funding Council, Developing the Young Workforce and Scottish Borders Council piloted the ‘Meet The Learner’ programme in 2023 as part of the South of Scotland’s Digital Pathfinder. The Digital Pathfinder, which was led by both of the colleges, had the aim of helping the region to become more competitive by facilitating the delivery of higher-level digital skills to businesses and individuals.
Due to the successful pilot the region’s partners have rolled out the programme to South of Scotland schools.
The Meet The Learner programme was created to help build the digital talent pipeline, by showcasing learners at school, college and university talking about their experiences of studying courses in Computing Science and Cyber Security, with the aim of inspiring their peers to consider a career in tech.
The programme consists of a series of online events. Each event focuses on a different stage of the learning pathway, starting with school-based provision, then moving on to college and university-based study. During the sessions learners studying tech courses speak candidly about:
- why they took their courses;
- what and how they learn;
- what they enjoy about their courses;
- why others should think about taking their course and
- what they intend to do after the course, as a result of studying it.
The programme has featured student speakers from:
- secondary schools across the South of Scotland speaking about their National 5 and Highers in Computing Science;
- Borders College and Dumfries & Galloway College discussing their HNC and HND courses in Cyber Security and Computing; and
- students from the University of Glasgow, the University of the West of Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University, the University of St Andrews, the University of Dundee and the University of Edinburgh talking about what it’s like to study Computing Science at undergraduate level, including Graduate Apprenticeships.
To date hundreds of pupils from schools across the South of Scotland have attended a ‘Meet The Learner’ event and both colleges have been thrilled to see that over 70% of young people at the sessions have said that they would be ‘more likely to consider taking a course in Computing as a result of attending.’
Not only have the events helped to change young peoples’ perceptions of learning and training in tech but they have also helped pupils with their subject choices at school.
Lesley Broadwood, Skills Lead at Dumfries & Galloway College and Project Lead for the Digital Pathfinder said: “It has been fantastic to see the extent to which this programme changes the perceptions of young people, making it more likely for them to want to take a course in Computing Science. This initiative provides a new way to help encourage young people to consider a career in tech, which is especially important when one in ten of all Scottish job vacancies are within the tech sector.”
Graeme Galloway, Programme Director, Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Dumfries & Galloway, and Meet The Learner project partner said: “Meet the Learner is a unique programme which has enabled pupils to get a rare insight into learning about studying for a Computing qualification. DYW Dumfries & Galloway is delighted to be working with regional partners to support this groundbreaking project.”
Pete Smith, Borders College Principal, said: “Developing digital skills across the region is, and will continue to be, a key goal for Borders College and our partners. The Meet The Learner events showcase the importance of Computing Science as a subject and the all-important pathways into technology careers. As a result, it will ensure that the region’s young people can make more informed decisions about their future.”
Joanna Campbell, Principal, Dumfries and Galloway College, said: “Dumfries and Galloway College is delighted to see that this programme has been rolled out across the South of Scotland. The Meet The Learner events provide a unique platform for students at schools, colleges and universities to engage and discuss what future employment opportunities are available through developing their technology skillsets.”