Case Study: Kainos

Kainos held 20+ virtual work experience sessions to introduce over a thousand young people to careers in coding, software engineering, cyber security, and other technology-related specialism. These placements took place from January 2021 to March 2022.

The aim was to:

• Widen participation in technology for under-represented groups and support equal access to work experience in the technology sector.
• To attract more young women to consider a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).
• To encourage more young people from across the UK to consider STEM careers.

Most of these sessions have been 3-day placements available to young people from all over the UK. However, Kainos has also run a selection of closed opportunities for FE colleges in Northern Ireland to help nurture local talent and provide much-needed pathways into STEM careers.

Kainos received roughly double the number of applications available in the first half of the academic year 2021/2022 which means a growing demand for their placements.

A positive step towards greater female representation

In terms of demographics, Kainos placements have continued to attract roughly twice as many male applicants as females. Like many STEM employers, females are underrepresented in the tech sector and Kainos is keen to attract more young women into their industry.

While most of their placements have been available to both genders, they also ran some placements that specifically targeted female students to help improve female representation. Since September 2021, there has been a 5% increase in applications from females which suggests they have taken a step in the right direction.

To celebrate International Women’s Day and National Careers Week, Kainos delivered a 3-day work experience event for young women aged between 14-19. 100% of attendees said the sessions improved their coding skills. - Danielle Keenan , Social Responsibility Manager at Kainos

Student feedback from young people completing placements with Kainos has been incredibly positive:

• 95% of young people rated their placement 4 out of 5 stars or higher.
• 94% said they learned about jobs that were different to those of their parents and carers.
• 80% indicated that they had been able to meet people in jobs that interested them through their work experience.
• 85% felt confident about their career possibilities following their placements.

My placement was incredibly enjoyable, informative and fun. It has made me very confident in choosing this industry as my future career prospect. -?Quote from a participating student

Comments like these illustrate how valuable the students found the experience and are particularly significant given the limitations imposed by the pandemic.

If you would like to find out more about our work experience programme please visit our website:?https://www.speakersforschools.org/vwex/