NI Digital Awareness Week, aimed at getting young people across Northern Ireland excited about a career in tech, kicked off at the W5 in Belfast recently.   

Now in its second year, NI Digital Awareness Week, an initiative by locally based, global public software provider Civica and partners across the worlds of industry and education, gives 11-18 years olds the chance to try coding and hear first-hand from experts in the worlds of AI, cybersecurity and cloud technologies.   

Running from 24-28th October, NI Digital Awareness Week featured over 18 virtual talks, panel discussions and live demos from organisations including Microsoft, Allstate, Instil and Datactics. 

Speaking at the 2022 event launch Civica Managing Director (Northern Ireland) Mark Owens said:
 “Northern Ireland has one of the fastest growing tech sectors in the UK, with both home-grown and global digital technology companies now accounting for one in every seven job vacancies. To keep our edge however, we must double-down on skills, with carefully targeted investment in our education system - encouraging more school pupils to take up STEM subjects. 

“The tech sector must also do its bit and get more young people excited about a career in digital tech and that’s what NI Digital Awareness Week is all about. Over the course of the week, we hope to inspire as many young people as possible to follow in the footsteps of the innovators who created the digital technologies we now take for granted and which have transformed our lives for the better.” 
 Economy Minister Gordon Lyons said:

“Our digital sector is globally recognised and continues to show huge potential for future growth. I’m delighted to support the Northern Ireland Digital Awareness Week 2022 from Civica and partners. This event will make a real difference in raising awareness of the importance of digital skills and their value in the workplace.  

“It’s vital that we encourage our young people into technology careers and increase qualifications in computer science and software to offer exciting opportunities and meet the needs of our future workforce.”