Challenge

Demand for ICT professionals continues to grow, but access to digital careers is not equally available to everyone. Women, migrants, unemployed adults changing careers and young people facing educational or socioeconomic disadvantages often encounter barriers to relevant training and employment. Although many inclusive ICT programmes exist, information about their effectiveness, success factors and potential for replication remains fragmented. Limited funding and weak links between training providers, employees and policymakers can also prevent promising initiatives from becoming sustainable.

Solutions

As part of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation’s New Skills at Work initiative, diversITy examined how ICT training can provide diverse groups with practical routes into meaningful technology jobs. Led by empirica, the project mapped training programmes in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Poland and South Africa. It reviewed their target groups, teaching methods, employer involvement, job-placement support and evidence of labour-market outcomes using a standardised assessment framework. The project also analysed ICT skills supply and demand, reviewed relevant European and national policies, and organised workshops and roundtables with training providers, employers, experts and other stakeholders. This combination of data analysis and first-hand experience helped identify not only which approaches worked, but also what programmes needed to remain effective, grow and be transferred to other settings.

Results

diversITy reviewed around 500 inclusive ICT training programmes, established a repository of approximately 80 initiatives and selected 22 programmes as detailed good-practice showcases. These examples demonstrated practical ways of combining technical education with mentoring, employer partnerships, career guidance and placement support for groups underrepresented in the technology workforce. The project produced a final comparative report, seven country reports, a policy brief and a practitioner brief. Its findings highlighted that promising programmes often struggle with long-term funding and scale, making stronger cooperation between industry, policymakers and training providers essential. The results gave decision-makers and implementing organisations practical guidance for designing more inclusive, sustainable training and improving participants’ transition into employment.