In an effort to support young girls to make right career choices, Ericsson Kenya has engaged in a three year partnership with five high schools in Nairobi on an initiative aimed at supporting, promoting and mentoring young women who are in their third and fourth year of Secondary school studies mentor young women to undertake studies in the ICT field.
25 girls from the schools selected; Starehe Girls’ Secondary School, Embakasi Girls’ Secondary School, Pumwani Girls’ Secondary School, Huruma Girls’ Secondary School and Alliance Girls’ High School were hosted at Ericsson Kenya offices in celebration of International Girls’ in ICT day.
Speaking on the initiative, Robert Rudin, Managing Director Ericsson Kenya said: “We are partnering with the above named schools for a period of three years to mentor young women to undertake studies in ICT field, and in the course of time we will monitor the girls and follow up to see what career choices they make.”
He added: “For those who pursue ICT studies and are successful in the relevant qualifications, we eventually aim to consider them as potential future employees. We have in place a monitoring mechanism to see this objective realized.”
International Girls’ in ICT Day is an initiative backed by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Member States to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies (ICTs.
ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs. They allocate global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develop the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strive to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide. It aims to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies (ICTs).
Despite a shortage of two million ICT skilled labor and majority of young girls never considering a career in ICT, many companies are looking to increase the number of women in the sector. To date, over 111,000 girls and young women have taken part in 3,500 celebrations of International Girls in ICT Day in 140 countries worldwide.
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Ericsson’s goal is to influence girls’ career choices by creating an interest in them, to pursue studies in the ICT (information and communications technology) field. In addition, Ericsson intends to follow up with the girls and get its employees to mentor the young girls through their school life and even after so we contribute positively to their careers.
