On 17th July, some of the WhiteHat team joined a number of organisations and individuals using digital technology to improve the lives of others and make the world a better place at the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards.
We speak highly of our mission here at WhiteHat - to create a diverse group of future leaders by building an outstanding alternative to university through apprenticeships.
We focus on developing future leaders; a generation of people taught via applied learning, with an emphasis on building skills alongside knowledge, as we believe this will be able to help solve the UK’s skills gap, filling the shortage whilst addressing the lack of diversity in key industries.
Research highlights the positive impact, both culturally and economically, of building a diverse workforce is comprehensive and robust; yet in industries such as tech, finance, media, and law, individuals from BAME and FSM backgrounds are woefully underrepresented. Companies are aware that this needs to change, but by and large remain unsure of how to access talent from these groups.
By encouraging employers in these sectors to take on apprentices, we believe we can start to remedy the problem.
50% of the applicants that come to WhiteHat have claimed free school meals during their school years; 65% are non-white; and 6% are care leavers. We ensure that we reach out to students from London’s most deprived boroughs through school visits and outreach, to help build aspiration into these school leavers’ career decisions.
We believe that investing in young people at the outset of their careers today is going to shape the workplaces of the future.
So picking up the Tech4Good Diversity Award was a huge moment for us as it recognises the work we are doing to build diversity into the leadership pipeline.
Find out more about our mission to create a diverse group of future leaders by filling out the form below.
Katie Allner