Girls across the country have been challenged to take up ICT courses so as to fit in the competitive global job market.
Players in the tech industry maintain that the majority of female learners have shied away from the ICT courses, leaving the tech space to be male-dominated.
According to Zetech University Director of Research and Innovation Esther Wanjiru, only five in a class of 50 students undertaking IT related courses are females.
Wanjiru noted with concern that failure by most female learners to be abreast with the rapidly changing technological advancement is the reason most of them are facing an uphill task securing jobs.
Speaking at the university during a workshop dubbed ‘Women in Tech Competition’ for female learners drawn from various higher learning institutions, the don quipped that there are numerous opportunities in digital workspace that the youth can take advantage of to make a decent income.
Her sentiments were echoed by Eve Kilel of SheHacks, a cyber-security firm operating in the country, who said that there should be concerted efforts to rope more girls into the tech world so as to bridge the gap in the tech workspace.
“Organizations should come together and jointly encourage more girls to undertake ICT courses for the sake of their future. This includes moving to high schools to mentor them before they choose their career paths,” she said.
Kilel noted that even after the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world last year leading to lay-offs of millions of workers, online workers did not lose their jobs.
By Kamau Njoroge
Get more stories from our website: Education News
To write to us or offer feedback, you can reach us at: editor@educationnews.co.ke
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
