Encouraging Diversity and Inclusion in the Technology Industry
At Like Technologies, we believe that encouraging diversity and inclusion leads to greater innovation in the technology industry. As electronic and software engineering specialists, we understand that it is essential to ensure that technology can play a major role in economic recovery and growth for all industry sectors of the UK. Diverse organisations have been shown to perform better and have higher employee satisfaction rates.
Like many companies, our starting point was to create a written diversity policy, to demonstrate that we take our moral and legal obligations to being a diverse employer seriously, as well as providing training and engaging staff. However, while this is a great first step, we felt it was essential to go further. We are proactively championing diversity and inclusion – read on to discover how.
Signing the Tech Talent Charter
We have joined over 500 UK employers in publicly committing to driving measurable change in diversity and inclusion in tech, by becoming a signatory of the Tech Talent Charter.
The Tech Talent Charter (TTC) is a non-profit organisation leading a movement to address inequality in the UK tech sector and drive inclusion and diversity in a practical and uniquely measurable way. The TTC’s ultimate goal is that the UK tech sector becomes truly inclusive and a reflection of the society which it represents. There are now over 500 UK employers of tech involved with the TTC and working together to drive change.
Debbie Forster, CEO of Tech Talent Charter said:
“The importance of greater inclusion and diversity in tech is, thankfully, no longer up for debate. Sectors and organisations now need to work together to shift the dial – and this will happen a lot quicker if we pool our successes, failures, ideas and learn from them to bring about real structural change. In our inaugural report we stressed the importance of collaboration. One single company can’t do it alone, which is why we’re asking organisations to sign up to the Tech Talent Charter.”
Diversifying the electronics talent pipeline
Facing the challenge of a local electronics skills gap when recruiting staff, Like Technologies formed a consortium with five other companies to secure funding from the UK Government’s Fast Track Digital Workforce Fund, to provide technical top-up training.
The Tech Lancaster Electronic Skills Programme is the only industry-led course in the UK pilot for the national roll out of ‘skills boot-camps’, putting electronic skills firmly on the national agenda and increasing accessibility to skilled careers for underemployed groups. Tech Lancaster is promoting equality, championing inclusivity and actively working to diversify the electronics talent pipeline. The organisation has met or exceeded all sign-up targets for starters being female, BAME or having a disability or health condition.
Kate Houlden, Managing Director of Like Technologies, said:
“Like Technologies is proud to become a signatory of the Tech Talent Charter, furthering our commitment to real action in encouraging greater inclusivity and diversity. As one of the founding members of Tech Lancaster, an Electronics Skills Programme proactively increasing accessibility to careers in tech for under-represented groups, our core purpose and values align perfectly. We are looking forward to working with other organisations to address inequalities, encourage diverse talent and close the skills gap in our sector.”
Like Technologies Ltd. is a leading provider of industrial electronic engineering and computer-based systems solutions. To find out more please get in touch via our contact page or call a member of our friendly team on 01524 811383.