A Parliament House celebration is set to take place this month for a group of Canberra students who’ve excelled in a Women in ICT (WIC) Work Experience Connection Program. Here, the students’ achievements in such a male-dominated tech industry will be applauded.
Through the program, 17 girls and non-binary students in Years 9 to 12 completed work experience at leading organisations such as EY, Australian Federal Police, Microsoft, Pragma Partners, Verizon, CDC Data Centres and Emanate Technology.
This allowed them to participate in a range of ICT roles, including operations, networks, penetration testing, cybersecurity, coding, human resources and consulting.
One Year 11 student, Briagha Elliott said the program broadened her perspective on the world of work after she was an EY ‘consultant for the week’.
“I was able to seek guidance from professionals who successfully navigated the consulting hiring process and now excel in their roles,” she said.
“Meeting everyone was a blast and immersing myself in the office environment was truly invaluable.”
Now, a program wrap-up event will be held at Parliament House on October 19, with Alicia Payne MP as the host.
The program was run through WIC— a Canberra-based not-for-profit organisation tackling the gender equity challenge in the technology sector.
WIC Pipeline and Advancement Sub-Committee Co-Chair Lynn White said she was proud of what the program had achieved in its first round. She sees it as “an extremely rewarding experience for both the students and the hosts.”
“It gave students a great insight into working in the ICT sector and the pathways they can pursue,” she said.
Part of one of the 15 host organisations, General Manager at Pragma Partners, Tori Sanderson described the experience as a “win-win” for the students and themselves.
“It was a delight to host students for work experience and play a part in nurturing the learning and development of Australia’s next generation of talent,” Sanderson said.
“We learnt a lot from mentoring the students and they gained valuable practical experience.”
Building on the program’s success, WIC plans to include an expo for high school and university students next year, with representatives from leading tech organisations to show what a career in ICT could look like.
“We want to show students who may not have considered studying or working in tech, that it’s a really fun and diverse industry,” said White.
Students will also receive resume and cover-letter writing guidance to apply for the 2024 re-launch.