Google and other IT firms are challenging the Government to respond to declining participation in digital technology at school and in tertiary education.
The kids were rapt. 1400 of them, cheering excitedly yesterday as young entrepreneur Alexia Hilbertidou rarked them up. “A career in tech can turbo charge your career and your bank account,” the GirlBoss founder told them.
“Tech is one of the highest paying careers, with an average salary of $100,000.” Then she paused. “Turn to your neighbour and tell them, that’s ‘six figures baby’.”
Hilbertidou, of Samoan and Greek heritage, was one of a line-up of speakers at the Tech21 Summit yesterday, at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau.
“There has been a steady decline in participation in technology study amongst local students both at secondary and tertiary levels … This is partly driven by a lack of understanding of the diverse career opportunities and pathways available in technology.”
– Google NZ
More than 1,400 students and 200 teachers from 15 schools in south Auckland and its fringes were wowed by urban rapper Kings, KidsCoin co-founder Brittany Teei, ARA Journeys developer James Brooks, Weta Digital Facial Motion Department Manager Anne Taunga, and multiple Oscar-winning Animation Research managing director Sir Ian Taylor.
The summit was convened by the Ministry of Education and NZTech, a grouping of digital technology businesses. NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller said the kids were inspired by seeing technology stars from their own cultures who were succeeding and making a difference – “whether it’s making a hundy in New Zealand, or two hundy in Silicon Valley”.
Tech21 aims to inspire ākonga (students) into technology careers – a timely goal because, right now, it emerges participation rates are dropping in school-level technology studies.
A report published today by Google NZ raises concerns about that drop-off. “There has been a steady decline in participation in technology study amongst local students both at secondary and tertiary levels,” it says. “This is partly driven by a lack of understanding of the diverse career opportunities and pathways available in technology.”
Just last week, US video game billionaire Gabe Newell told an Auckland conference that NZ can be a world leader in tech sectors like gaming, if it can continue to develop a highly-skilled workforce.
Google has sponsored the NZ Digital Skills Forum and says by putting a spotlight on these issues the Forum participants aim to find solutions for nurturing local talent and promoting greater inclusiveness in digital skills training opportunities.
And it supported the publication of the annual technology edition of the Careers with STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) magazine, to demystify career pathways in technology.
Last year, a special indigenous edition of the magazine targeted Aboriginal and Māori students, by sharing stories and journeys of those who have carved their own unique paths. All 550-plus secondary schools in New Zealand were sent copies.
It’s no great surprise that participation in Latin and the classics has been declining – but digital technology? When every kid is engrossed on a screen, that seems counter-intuitive.
The internet giant’s country manager, Caroline Rainsford, is calling on ministers to take note, as their officials establish a national curriculum centre to refresh what our children are taught.
Last week in the Budget, Ministers announced $185 million for the reform of Tomorrow’s Schools, including a National Curriculum Centre to ensure teachers have the best curriculum supports available to them in a modern and accessible way.
“Not only are we getting fewer students engaging, but only 39 percent of technology standards now within schools are girls. And the numbers of Māori and Pasifika are woeful.”
– Caroline Rainsford, Google NZ
This would refresh the curriculum, and create a new online curriculum hub and digital records of learning in schools and kura.
Rainsford said the Government should support participation in technology from primary school onwards. That was the only way to provide our high-tech export economy with the skilled workers and leaders it needs, and to ensure our children are equipped for this brave new world.
“We haven’t had enough investment in digital skills in this country, and it certainly hasn’t been sustained,” Rainsford said.
“We need so many more private organisations and government coming together to solve this. Not only are we getting fewer students engaging, but only 39 percent of technology standards now within schools are girls. And the numbers of Māori and Pasifika are woeful.”
Minister of Education Chris Hipkins said the Government was working to refresh the curriculum, including digital technology and IT. “This work is due to be completed in 2025 and aims to ensure students move beyond being users and consumers, to innovative creators of digital solutions. We are also putting millions into ensuring equitable access to digital devices.”
“It will, in turn, support a strengthened IT pipeline into tertiary and employment.”
– Chris Hipkins, Minister of Education
Hipkins said the refresh, along with reviews of related curriculum areas like maths and pāngarau, would provide updated and relevant standards and resources to support high quality technology and hangarau education. “It will, in turn, support a strengthened IT pipeline into tertiary and employment,” he said.
There would be further opportunities to look at and reflect on digital technologies as part of the curriculum work, and as part of the NCEA change programme.
Through the Reform of Vocational Education, Hipkins said six Workforce Development Councils were being created to bridge the gap between industry and education, identify skill shortages and ensure the right skills were being taught and the right pathways offered to ensure a workforce for the future.
Today’s Google NZ community engagement report, Helping all Kiwis thrive in digital world, quotes a Digital Skills Forum study, Digital Skills For Our Digital Future.
It finds that declining numbers of secondary school students are enrolling in technology courses and other pathway subjects like maths. Participation in NCEA technology standards has been declining at -2 percent compound annual growth rate. Maths standard participation has also been declining at -1 percent during the same period. This decline is then flowing into tertiary study.
“The other issue we have had in the secondary sector is attracting digi tech teachers into the fold as they are far better paid in industry.”
– Micheal Fleming, Graphics and Technology Teachers Association
Since 2015, there has been a -2 percent decline in enrolments for IT courses. Compared to other sectors where numbers are increasing, like construction, the key difference appears to be industry integration and partnership with education. This includes strong marketing and clear messaging to students, defined pathways, easy access to career information, and the ability to earn while learning.
It shows that at the start of secondary school, where technology is now a compulsory part of the curriculum, girls make up 50 percent of the class. But that drops to 39 percent graduating with NCEA Technology, 22 percent graduating with an IT degree, and 27 percent of the digital technology workforce.
The figures for Māori and Pasifika are even more stark. The numbers drop steadily from secondary school onwards, so that Māori are just 4 percent of the digital technology workforce, and Pasifika are just 2.8 percent.
“The majority of primary school teachers are women. If they are uncomfortable with technology then girls see this and it may reinforce stereotypes.”
– Digital Skills Forum study
The participation finding is meeting a mixed response. Some in the education sector pointed out that overall, digital literacy has increased.
They suggested other explanations for the decline: some students might be getting tech credits through other subjects; some schools build localised courses that feature generic technology standards; and the Ministry and NZ Qualifications Authority have recommend in the overall numbers of standards completed.
Micheal Fleming, president of the Graphics and Technology Teachers Association, said participation in the NZQA Digital Technology Standards had grown over the past four years.
But digital technology and computational thinking was a very new subject under the technology learning area, he said, and he agreed with the Google report that there was a lack of understanding of the diverse career opportunities.
Efforts were being made to encourage young women to participate, he said. “The other issue we have had in the secondary sector is attracting digi tech teachers into the fold as they are far better paid in industry.”
The study draws a comparison with the world of sports, and its success in engaging young people. “Focusing on the grassroots of a sporting code can generate greater participation, leading to increased growth and development of the sport,” it says. “Using a similar model, increased public awareness of digital tech careers may help develop a larger talent pipeline.”
Beginning in primary school, the study says, children should be encouraged to learn about technology in age-appropriate ways.
One of the challenges is ensuring teachers feel comfortable. The study says that if they’re not confident with digital technologies, this may indirectly influence students, particularly girls. “The majority of primary school teachers are women,” it notes. “If they are uncomfortable with technology then girls see this and it may reinforce stereotypes.”
“Why work in tech? Its glamorous, global and you can help make a difference.”
– Alexia Hilbertidou, GirlBoss
In our primary schools, one of the biggest initiatives is Manaiakalani – a grouping of 100 schools in which teachers are developing their digital fluency working with children, especially Māori and Pasifika.
A longstanding participant is the 600-pupil decile 1 Pt England School in Auckland.
Principal Russell Burt told Newsroom the story of how understanding of the use of technology in daily life and learning didn’t just help the teachers and pupils – it also rubbed off on their families.
In one family at the school, a year 5 girl got her first Chromebook – her mother, a sole parent with a few kids, was paying $3.45 a week for her daughter’s computer in a rent-to-own scheme through the school’s trust.
The girl’s learning was improving, but she also taught her mother how to research on Chromebook. “The washing machine was busted and she was in desperation and she didn’t have any money,” Burt said.
“And she looked it up on her kid’s Chromebook, and she figured out how to fix the washing machine. That was the biggest moment in that year! Because we’re trying to empower families, not just children.”
“If you can’t see it and you can’t smell it, how do you know whether you can get to it, and whether you would like it or not?”
– Russell Burt, on tech careers
Coming back to that surprising and counter-intuitive discovery that student participation in technology is dropping from secondary school onwards, he said digital literacy was not just about using devices. No question, kids can do that.
But it was about using technology to learn reading, writing and mathematics. The children at the school were from under-represented groups: the roll was 30 percent Māori, some refugees and other new New Zealanders, and the rest nearly all Pasifika, mainly Samoan and Tongan.
“We’re the biggest and older state housing community in the country, and I’m proud of who we are,” he said.
“But kids in these communities – Flaxmere, Tamaki, all around the country – if you can’t see yourself in the story, then why does anybody think that you would be inventing your way there? It’s a very rare individual who gets up in the morning, on their own, and thinks, I could be a rocket man, when there’s no known pathway.”
Burt said that for children to take what they learned and dream of applying it in a career, they needed role models to identify with – especially Māori, Pasifika, migrants and women. “I’m sending year 7 and 8 kids into KPMG, as regularly as I can, and getting them to come out to the school to talk to us. Our kids need to see themselves in a place like that.
“That’s KPMG and us working together, to do that. That’s not the Government building a programme that enables children to see a visible future for themselves – there is nothing like that.
“If you can’t see it and you can’t smell it, how do you know whether you can get to it, and whether you would like it or not?”
Hilbertidou, the GirlBoss founder, certainly gave them a sniff of that success at the Tech21 Summit this week.
“As I got older, I felt like the odd one out, I was the only girl in my Year 12 digital tech class,” she told the 1400 students there. “I never imagined I would be a CEO of a company, I wasn’t the smartest or most popular kid.”
But, she urged them, get engaged, like she did. “Stay curious, be imaginative and be you!
“Why work in tech? Its glamorous, global and you can help make a difference.”
