Earlier this year, I attended the Microsoft Education Exchange (E2) event in Paris. Its a chance to celebrate the work of educators around the world and I havent stopped thinking about the impact the event has had on me and my practice. Three main thoughts about the direction and use of technology in the classroom have stayed with me.

1. Nurture unique skills

Grimsby, where Im from, is a far cry from the streets of Paris. The old fishing town is almost completely cut off from the rest of England, with no direct motorway connections and a limited railway station (if you want to visit us, youll be taking country lanes to get here). During the entire event, I only met two people who had even heard of Grimsby, and I felt quite insignificant when chatting to people from more far-flung locales like Melbourne, Nairobi, or Ho Chi Minh City.

It got me thinking, if I was feeling like that, how must others from the town feel?

What would it be like if everyone from my home town experienced an event like E2? Strangers from across the globe, joined together, split into teams, and quickly finding that all-important team dynamic in order to co-operatively solve a problem.

Then it hit me: this isnt limited to an event like the Education Exchange. This is life. This is how it should be, with individuals drawing on their own unique strengths, skills, and perspectives listening to others and using these strengths to help everyone. Whether youre a Grimbarian or a Parisian, we all have a unique set of skills to offer our peers. Developing that in our learners is vital to help inspire and build aspirations, no matter where theyre from.

2. Technology needs purpose

Technology is continuing to transform the classroom experience but that doesnt mean its something that should be used just because its there. Its shouldnt be simply a box-ticking exercise. To treat it as such misses the point and the power of technology in education.

As educators, we need to carefully plan and prepare for the introduction of any tech into the classroom. Consider

• Why youre deploying it
• How you want your students to learn
• What you wish to achieve

This lets our learners collaborate, communicate, grow, and just as developmentally important fail in a safe, guided environment.

Used in the right way, technology is an empowering force. In the hands of the right educators, we have the potential to change the world one school, college, or university at a time. But any classroom technology must have a purpose if its to support and engage a learners journey.

3. Ed-tech breaks down social barriers

Education technology goes beyond a laptop in every school bag and engaging PowerPoint slides on hi-tech TVs. We only have to look at the work of inspirational educators like Koen Timmers to see how education can support the reduction of poverty and inequality.

Tech is helping to break down barriers like these, as well as overcoming obstacles like location, distance, and even time. With the right tools, ed-tech lets students gain a greater perspective, learn about and respect other cultures, and discover new worlds outside the classroom. We need to harness these tools not just to help educate students in terms of the curriculum, but also increase their worldly knowledge and empathy.

In other words, the final barrier is the four walls of the classroom. Theres a wide and exciting world beyond it. The Microsoft Education Exchange shows us that, but it’s the technology that helps every one of our learners not just explore it, but experience it in all its glory.

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Tools to transform your classroom

Student-centred learning

About the author

Elaine has worked for over 10 years in education, delivering ICT qualifications and training in Further Education, Higher Education, Community learning and apprenticeships. She now works as a Senior Learning Technologist at the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education. In the role, she helps more than 400 academic staff implement technology solutions in the classroom, as well as fully integrating Office365 technologies into work processes of support staff. As a MIE Expert and active member of the Microsoft Educator Community, Elaine drives the adoption of learning technologies throughout the Grimsby Institute and provides Microsoft Office Specialist training and support for staff development. Dedicated and passionate, Elaine recognises the growing need for digital capabilities within teaching, and believes that with the right support, technology creates better learning experiences.

The post 3 learnings from the Microsoft Education Exchange event appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Im not going to take GCSE Computer Science anymore, said my 14 (going on 21) year old daughter. Shes a YouTube junkie, Overwatch fanatic and since seeing Bohemian Rhapsody a Queen superfan. I tried hard to hide the look of disappointment on my face as I asked her why.

I work as Talent Acquisition Lead for Microsoft in Middle East and Africa, and formerly for the UK, too. So, I spend my days working with my team to hire technical talent, while trying to ensure that we attract a healthy proportion of females into the recruiting process and it is tough. In the UK, a recent PWC research study found that only 15% of people working in STEM in UK roles were female; only 3% of females said a career in technology was their first choice.

Dont stop me now

Dont get me wrong, although Id love my daughter to turbo-charge her digital skills, getting deeply into artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data science, she made it clear that this was not the path for her. But surely continuing to study Computer Science to GCSE level, or A-Level at a push, wasnt too much to expect?

We know that the gender gap in digital skills starts at school. Females make up just 10% of A-Level computer science students, which in turn has a major impact on the pipeline of talent going into the technology industry. So challenging is the issue that the UK government has just announced investment in an initiative aimed at tackling this problem. In April 2019, the Gender Balance in Computing research project received 2.4 million of funding from the Department of Education to trial a number of schemes aimed at improving girls participation in computing.

Having been at Microsoft for 19 happy years, my daughter also started at Microsoft (at the workplace nursery) when she was a year old. Shes since spent a fair bit of time during school holidays with me in our family friendly office, drawing on the walls (its allowed, I promise), playing on the Xboxes, shooting some pool, playing on the indoor swings (yes, really), and periodically making the most of the Christmas parties or holiday learn-to-code events. She had access to lots of role models and the awesome roles in an amazing office environment. And similarly, she wasnt put off by any gender imbalance in the classroom; she goes to an all-girls school.

Two of the commonly cited reasons for this gender disparity are a lack of role models and lack of knowledge around the great career opportunities. So, which of these was it that put off my daughter? It was neither.

Another one bites the dust

The reason that shes dropping Computer Science is shockingly simple. As a keen musician, singer, performer and as I mentioned Queen fan, when her schools timetabling wouldnt permit students to take the combination of Music GCSE with Computer Science GCSE, her mind was made up. You could combine Computer Science with any other subject, just not Music. Simple as that.

Students are advised, in the school exam options booklet, that for a balanced curriculum you should choose one arts subject (art, drama, music), a humanities subject (business, geography, history) and a technology subject (cooking and nutrition or Graphics).

Back in 2013, an Institute of Physics report entitled Closing Doors shows that the majority of schools fail to encourage subject choices in a gender neutral way, which narrows childrens choices. The timetabling issue along with the school options booklet are classic examples of this; sending a subtle but effective message steering girls away from the subject. A perfectly logical combination of subjects becomes unusual, impossible, against the norm. And leading the technology list with Cooking and no mention of Computing, really?

I want to break free

If were serious about closing the digital skills gap for girls, then tech companies like Microsoft need to take the lead. We need to promote programs drawing more women into the sector. This is the next generation workforce. Theyll be sorely missed if schools and businesses dont start encouraging them right now. They must offer better visibility to role models and the great range of STEM careers available. Such innovations include Microsofts DigiGirlz initiative for secondary school pupils, the Codess community, and our Women Think Next networking events.

At the same time, schools should remove each and every blocker to girls gaining digital skills and studying STEM subjects, especially Computer Science. All the role models in the world wont help if a simple scheduling issue or a clumsily written booklet closes the door. In this case, it did for more than one female student.

Raising the issue, my daughters school quickly responded, acknowledging the feedback, promising to remediate for next year. They even invited me to deliver some careers sessions.

My daughter loves school. Shes getting a wonderful education with teachers who do an amazing job every day. Shes still pursuing other STEM subjects, aspiring to a career in science and particularly Astronomy. And who is her new role model? None other than PhD Astronomer and Queen guitarist, Brian May. Dont stop her now.

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Empower the young people of today to create the world of tomorrow

About the author

Georgina is Head of Talent Acquisition for Middle East and Africa, with nearly 20 years service at Microsoft. Shes focused on managing the recruiting teams across the MEA region, recruiting talent primarily for the sales and marketing, and services organisations.Prior to moving into recruitment, Georgina was a leader in the Microsoft Services team,managing the delivery of professional services to Microsofts Premier Support customers.Shes passionate about coaching and developing individuals to achieve their potential, with an interest in diversity and inclusion.Georgina is based in the UK with her husband, two children and three stepchildren.

The post Another one bites the dust: How schools can improve the digital skills gender gap appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

The essence of E2 is celebration, recognition, collaboration, and inspiration. As always, the E2 Team UK, didnt disappoint and were there with game-changing energy flying the flag for all corners of the UK!

The UK saw six MIEExpert attendees alongside four representatives from the Leaders track. They embarked upon the experience with full tenacity and came back enthused with ideas to shape the future of technology in education in the UK.

MIEExperts

• • Elaine Topham, Senior Learning technologist from the Grimsby Institute
  • Julie Fletcher Head of ICT from Ysgol Y Strade, Llanelli, South Wales
  • James Wilton, English teacher and Housemaster from Repton School in the Midlands
  • Dawn Jones, ICT Curriculum Trainer in Education Sector and O365 Cloud Strategy, Scotland
  • Owen Davies, Maths and Science teacher and Teacher Training Educator lecturer, Bangor School of Education
  • Donna Shah, Digital Technology Lead , Newington Green and Rotherfield primary schools in London

Leaders track

• • Graham Feek, Deputy Chief Executive, Greenwood Academies Trust
  • Andy Perryer, Digital Learning Adviser, Cognita
  • Chris Owen, Head of Digital Learning, Welsh Government HwB
  • Kirsty McFaul, Senior Education Officer, Education Scotland

E2 is all about forming new bonds with fellow educators. During the first educator challenge, our educators kicked off the fun by canvasing the streets of Paris with their teams and making a statement.

James Wilton, English teacher and Housemaster from Repton School in the Midlands, said that he learnt a great deal about collaboration and a strong sense of the educational values that united us. That in itself was enormously special.

The Learning Marketplace provided another key opportunity for the educators to connect and collaborate as E2s mini trade show. Team UK made a stamp here also on both fellow educators and Microsoft representatives alike.

By showcasing the unique ways they are using Microsoft technologies in their UK classrooms, our educators shared their wonderful ideas and left inspired by other educators from around the globe. Julie Fletcher, Head of ICT from Ysgol Y Strade, Llanelli, South Wales, was even able to connect with some of her primary school students live from the marketplace.

Breakout sessions during the week saw our MIEExperts learning a whole host of new skills from experts themselves. They also had the opportunity to take part in product focus groups. Donna, Digital Technology Lead , Newington Green and Rotherfield primary schools in London, attended a product focus group led by Mike Tholfsen, looking at learning tools and upcoming elements.

The Keynotes didnt disappoint either. Brianna’s keynote was exceptional. The confidence and passion she delivered to a room-full of global educators was incredible, definitely a future world leader in the making, said Julie.

On the final day with the Awards Gala, E2 Team UK took the spotlight again, bringing home four awards:

• Overall winner: Elaine Topham and her team
• Collaboration winner: Owen Davies and his team
• Inclusion winner: Dawn Jones and her team
• Creativity runner up: Donna Shah and her team

Moving forward with Team E2 UK

Following on from their amazing change-making experiences in Paris, what are the plans for our E2 Team now?

James has plans to introduce Micro:bits and Flipgrid to his students. He also plans to take part in TweetMeets to connect with other educators.

Elaine is now even more empowered to continue on her journey inspiring colleagues to become changemakers and encourage them to go forward to experience their own global connections.

Donna left E2 full of inspiration and eagerness to further explore the world of Minecraft. She also aims to ensure that every pupil, teacher, and parent in her institutions will know and use the learning tools confidently.

Owen plans to develop a digital training and STEM Space for all ages and abilities in North Wales.

Dawn will take away many valuable teachings, strategy plans, approaches and learn from them to enhance her own cluster improvement plans.

Finally, Julie has actioned the most recent integration between Wakelet and Sway through requesting the feature via Twitter. Her voice was heard and within a week the feature was enabled.

This shows there really is not limit to what the fabulous E2 Team UK can achieve!

Here at the UK Microsoft Education Team, we know that passion is priceless and our wonderful community of educators have that in bucket loads. We hope a final statement from Elaine leaves you with the determination to go outside your comfort zone. Put yourself forward for new and exciting opportunities in the new academic year to come.

I am determined to go forward with renewed confidence in myself and look for opportunities in life, rather than shy away from them because they may be too bold. I feel my passion and enthusiasm for teaching is renewed and I am inspired to try new things.

– Elaine Topham, Senior Learning technologist from the Grimsby Institute

Find out more about our educators and see firsthand their experiences at E2 in Paris.

• James Wilton: My Road to and From #E2
• Elaine Topman: My E2 Journey
• Julie Fletcher: My E2 Journey
• Donna Shah: E2 2019
• Dawn, Jones: #Road2E2
• Owen Davies: My Road to and From #E2

Feeling inspired and want to attend E2 next year? Become a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert! Heres how

We invite all educators to join the Microsoft Educator Community. There, youll find on-demand professional development and training courses that can lead to becoming a certified Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE).

From there, you can continue your journey toward becoming a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIEE). Nominations are open now until July 15, 2019. The 2019-2020 class of MIEExperts will be announced August 21, 2019.

Become a Microsoft Innovative Educator

About the author

Kristy Hill is Microsoft Learning Consultant on the Microsoft Education team in the UK. She is also an MIEExpert and a Skype Master Teacher. She is passionate about education, technology, and training. With a background in Primary Education, she has first hand knowledge of the use of technology embedded within the curriculum.

The post Meet the #E2ChangeMakers appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Empower your students with modern Windows 10 devices from leading PC manufacturers like HP, Dell, and Lenovo. It not only equips students with the skills for the future but also helps them increase their learning potential. However, when you have budgets to stick to, it can be hard to ensure all students have 1:1 access to these devices.

The Parental Contribution Programme by Freedom Tech helps schools realise their students digital potential in a cost neutral way, by passing the costs onto parents.

This programme enables all students to have access to the same modern devices. It aims to be as inclusive as possible with no credit checks for parents. And with an optional payment plan, the costs can be spread over time. Best of all, it includes GAP, Extended Warranty and Accident Damage & Theft cover for the duration of the programme. This ensures the programme stays cost effective to parents who get to keep the devices at the end of the payment period.

Students can increase their learning potential with 24/7 access to a modern learning device. This means they can keep learning outside of the classroom, arming them with the right tools for an ever-evolving technical world and inspiring a new generation of workplace ready whizz-kids. As part of the programme, students get Microsoft Specialists vouchers to further their digital skill set.

For schools, this programme means there is no extra costs that supplying devices would have. Plus, you have IT admin access on the devices which helps you ensure the devices are secure and compliant.

Perins School giving students the opportunity to develop

Perins School is an academy in Alresford for 11 to 16-year-olds. They are committed to providing a rich and educational experience. Their focus is on ensuring every student has the opportunity to progress and develop at their own pace. Therefore, they decided to become a 1:1 school.

Caroline Cleaver, IT administrator explains their journey with Freedom Technology: Freedom Tech genuinely collaborate with Perins. They are happy to attend our parents evening to ensure that parents and guardians were fully informed about the programme and how to use the portal. They are fully involved in all aspects of the programme. Not every school will have someone like me who is an internal point of contact for the programme. Freedom Tech can help all schools put in place a programme that runs in an efficient and compliant way – regardless of what internal resources they have.

Students not only use the devices to increase their digital skills. Perins School use it as an opportunity for them to develop accountability and responsibility over their devices.

We position it to pupils that this is a learning tool which needs respecting and looking after. We set out the schools expectation that devices need to be brought into school every day, fully charged. When it breaks, they need to bring it in for a repair straight away, Caroline says.

Perins Schools ability to evolve the programme each year to ensure they best meet the needs of their students has meant that parental take up of the programme was 100 percent for the September 2018 intake.

We were one of the first schools to run it as a donation model. Many other schools run this type of programme in a more in a traditional payment model, but we are steadfast on making sure that our programme is fully inclusive for all of our pupils, says Caroline.

Ribblesdale School committing to futureproofing students

Ribblesdale School is a community-focussed school in Clitheroe, Lancashire. Their aim is to equip students with the skills, knowledge and resilience to be successful in adult life in the 21st Century, which lead them to take part in a 1:1 scheme. In fact, their first year of a parental contribution programme saw an 80 percent uptake of parents taking part.

You only have to take a good look around our school to see, its not all flashing lights and technology. We must operate a blended learning approach to do right by our young people and their respective futures. Religious Education and English lessons have been able to use Minecraft Education Edition to cement the learning and drive interaction and engagement in lots of interesting and exciting ways.*

Paul Edge, Deputy Head Teacher.

Teachers are the key to helping students reach their digital potential. By having modern devices, teachers have access to collaboration tools such as Teams and OneNote. The IT department at Ribblesdale School help set up OneNote and Teams sites to help drive uptake. They also showed teachers how these tools would make the classroom more inclusive and empowering for students.

We overcame this by challenging our teachers to think creatively about how such functionality could be used through a curriculum lens and how it might empower all students to find their voice through an inclusion lens, says Paul. Were not radical. We just use the tools effectively.

Find out more

Please note: All offers are subject to credit approval. Tier 1 manufacturer hardware only. Terms and conditions of the rental contract will apply. 196 documentation setup fee will apply to all contracts. Equipment is provided via the reseller whose terms and conditions apply to all sales. winAbility is provided by Freedom Tech Ltd. Freedom Tech Ltd is the trading style of CSI Leasing UK Limited and its subsidiaries.

*Minecraft: Education Edition offers an engaging platform for computer science education, with features designed to help students learn to code, and apply coding across STEM subjects. This flexible curriculum based on CSTA standards is now available for educators to teach foundational Computer Science concepts and help students build computational thinking skills.

The post Students equipped to unlock their learning potential with the latest Windows devices appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

As an intern at Microsoft, I’m lucky enough to work in an organisation that inspires us all to achieve more – not only in business but within the community too. Because they’re so passionate about this, part of my internship includes a ‘stretch project’. This is a project where we look for ways we can use our passion, skills, and knowledge to positively impact society.

The first step of starting a stretch project is to identify who you are and what kind of person youd like to become. No stretch projects are bad by nature, nor any of them perfect by design. The most important thing is that most of them are empty vessels, moulded into something positive by your team. This gives room for you to make the change youd like to see, step by step, and to begin flexing your leadership, collaboration skills, and creativity.

As part of Generation Z, I grew up alongside technology so working for Microsoft was an easy decision. But I have always been distinctly aware that not everyone gets to go on this same journey. Alongside a few others, we started Tech Pathways to ensure everyone can.

Tech Pathways is our stretch project. Our group of Microsoft interns work with young people to drive change. We help show that a career in technology is for everyone.

Bridge the gap

Our mantra is bridge the gap‘. We want to ensure no one is left behind as the world embarks on a digital journey. This journey is as new to usGeneration Zas it is to industry leads and those propelling this paradigm shift.

As I mentioned, the problem is that not everybody is invited on this digital journey. We have many fully capable young people who are seldom given the opportunity due to individual differences, including:

• Those who do not directly conform to mainstream education
• Families that fall under lower income brackets
• People who were not given the opportunity for behavioural reasons
• Those who are moving closer towards anti-social behaviour
• Those suffering from a debilitating physical or mental illness

As society begins to move forward and we rely more on digital technologies, it is important that we both personally and corporately give equal opportunity to all young people. We need to give them the confidence to adapt, rethink, and consider technology as a suitable industry to grow their skills and begin excelling in.

60 percent of future jobs haven’t been created yet. We should not underestimate the technology shift that is currently happening and how this might affect millions nationally. Nor should we underestimate how intimidating a corporate environment might be for someone who has never been in one.

How we drive change

Our aim is to turn young peoples notions of thinking a career in tech isnt for them into something thats possible – and exciting.

We run events through UK. They all have a fast-paced and action-packed agenda. It also includes plenty of chances for people to get hands-on with new technology. It keeps them (and us) as engaged as possible.

In past events, weve even held debates and product pitches that require creating inventive solutions. Its plenty of fun, and thats the point a career in tech can be creative and exciting and we want to showcase this.

For those who are unable to visit us in person, we also use Microsoft social pages to livestream events. We aim to keep these as informal as possible, usually having a fireside chat about early-in-career routes or discussing technology myths.

One recent event saw a mixture of 1624-year-olds enter our doors to learn all about apprenticeships. The idea of the day was not to only talk about Microsoft apprenticeships, but to speak objectively and remind young people that this career route is possible. In fact, it can be an even more effective route than university. The day included sessions on digital identity, a talk by Microsoft UK’s apprenticeship lead, experimenting with the HoloLens, and learning about the new digital revolution.

As a team, it’s important that we remind ourselves why we enjoy doing our work so much. Its importance that young people find fulfilment in their work and, more importantly at their age, can envisage themselves enjoying work. Since I joined, Ive enjoyed trying my hand at completely different roles within Microsoft. Everyone should be able to feel this way.

Would I have done anything different?

We live in a world where those who need help are often the hardest to get in contact with. My advice for anyone joining this team or any form of initiative would be to think creatively and try out some unique ways to drive the outcomes you are looking for.

No project will be without problems and the key word is communication. This has to be a core pillar when undertaking any project internally and externally. Set expectations, set ambitions, and work towards these whilst speaking up if youre having problems and helping out others where it might be needed. Also, listen to what other people are saying when they talk to you, and take feedback and constructive criticism onboard.

Tech Pathways has helped me increase my skills in communication, collaboration, and creativity. Ive immensely enjoyed working with a passionate group at Microsoft to help drive change in society and reach out to show young people that there are different pathways into exciting and fulfilling careers in technology.

A future for all

We need to ensure we all get involved in this journey to ensure we are all equally prepared for the future. This isn’t something that is only a stretch project. This is something we can all work together towards daily. By doing so, not only will we ensure everyone has the digital skills, but we’ll open up a career in tech to more people, creating a more diverse and innovative future for all.

If you want to get involved with Tech Pathways, drop a line to eduadvocate@microsoft.com. We’d love to find more ways we can help bridge the gap and get more young people considering a career in technology.

About the author

Jake is currently an undergraduate studying Media and Communication at Bournemouth University. Taking a year out to support the Commercial Legal team, Jake has a passion for technology and envisages its use for social change. During his day-to-day, Jake manages Microsofts Legal and Compliance Community, ensuring that our customers trust Microsoft as we develop our cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and work around data in this post-GDPR period.

The post Creating social impact at Microsoft appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

I work in the Customer Success Unit, where we support our customers to help them better harness and deliver a successful digital transformation. We also want to futureproof our co-workers and employees. With this in mind, we built our early in career programme with apprentices. I started my career as an apprentice so I know the value of having a structured programme. By developing and nurturing talent, it will reap rewards for the employer, the apprentice, and the manager.

Watching young talented people develop is the greatest part about my role here in Microsoft. To see these fearless people challenge and push even the most experienced employee is fantastic. They also bring a different sort of energy, perspective, and positive way of thinking – very much a why cant we? or how do we? mindset.

A great start to your career

The apprenticeship programme is very personal to me, having started my career as an IT apprentice 22 years ago. Therefore, being able to fully give back to the programme that made me who I am today is important.

I became an apprentice as I felt like I didnt really have much direction. I had dropped out of college and I didnt really know where I was going or what I was doing. My apprenticeship was at BAE Systems/Airbus UK through CSC, where I was lucky enough to learn from some of the best engineers Ive ever worked with.

As an apprentice, I got the focus I needed and had several amazing mentors who Im still friends with now. It set me up for life. It provided me with focus, purpose, direction and showed me where I needed to develop and learn new skills.

Having the support of such a programme allowed me to develop very quickly. I also learned that money isnt the right area to focus on, but development is. The money will come as you gain skills, experience and rise up in your career. Now, at Microsoft, I get the great pleasure of managing and coaching a great team. The bit I love the most about being an apprentice manager is helping them develop their skills, learn their craft, and kick-start their career. I can tell you that someday I’ll end up working for our two current apprentices!

The future lies in young talent

Although the concept of customer success has been around in our industry for several years, the role of a Customer Success Manager in the modern workplace is still relatively new to Microsoft. Not only are we building a new team, but we are building a new industry role through our hybrid cloud approach, driving adoption and change management through the use of a customer success framework with technology that operates in the cloud and on premise.

We’ve built our team with strong and talented people who can help us take on this new challenge. Knowing that the future lies with young talent, having a plan for how we could hire early in career talent into the team has been a top priority for us from the start. Once our apprentices have completed the programme, they will come out with the experience, knowledge, and qualifications to drive the right behaviours in customer success, which will not only benefit Microsoft, but the wider industry too.

If you’ve not yet thought about hiring an apprentice into your business, then with this week being National Apprenticeship Week, now is a great time to find out more and invest in developing the skills that your business will need to succeed in the future of work.

Find out more

Create a great apprentice experience

About the author

Matt started off as an IT apprentice at BAE Systems/Airbus UK through CSC. He quickly rose through the ranks working at other IT companies such as Capgemini, Capita, Logica, and CGI. At Microsoft, he is a CSM Manager in the Customer Success Unit, leading a team of Customer Success Managers who use business experience to influence technology solutions and new ways of working in the modern workplace.

The post The benefits of hiring an apprentice appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

A fourth industrial revolution is under way driven by the transformative power of cloud technologies. Were doing our part to help manage the change, by supporting the UK digital economy with our Digital Skills programme. Working together with our partners, customers, and training providers, we collectively grow and empower new talent through the Microsoft Apprenticeship Programme.

The UK faces a Digital Deficit.

80 percent of the IT leaders we surveyed said cloud skills are important for digital transformation, but 38 percent of those trying to recruit have struggled to find the right skills.

Just 23 percent of the Generation X workers recently surveyed by Barclays were confident they could keep up with technology in the workplace.

Microsoft Apprenticeships are a great way for the UK to fill the digital skills gap and for businesses to build their talent pipeline and invest in the future of their workforce. Apprentices are a great opportunity for young people to develop the skills they need to succeed in the future of work through hands-on learning. They’re good for businesses and the UK economy too. With an ever-growing digital skills gap, there’s never been a better time to invest in the workforce of the future.

What is an apprenticeship?

An apprenticeship is often seen as a great alternative route to university, for students to embark their first steps into a career. They combine online and classroom based learning with a real job that provides hands-on experience and helps the apprentice put their learnings into practice.

Microsoft Apprenticeships are designed for both partners and customers and cover a wide range of roles and requirements. They cater for a range of educational stages, including ones that are equivalent to A-Levels and even Degree level qualifications. Which means you can hire an apprentice based on the skills you need to help your business succeed. They’re available for school leavers, graduates, and those returning to work after a career break. You could even use them as a way to up-skill existing employees to take on new roles which could be a great way to keep your teams motivated and increase employee retention.

All Microsoft programmes comply with UK government frameworks and standards and attract government funding. The relevant Microsoft certification paths are embedded in each occupational area along with wider tech, digital, and business learning.

Why should you hire a Microsoft apprentice?

Microsoft Apprenticeships are designed by and for Microsoft partners and customers. Since the programme began in 2010, nearly 20,000 people have gained qualifications so you can be confident that the programme has been tried and tested.

Apprentices cater for all levels so you can hire the talent that you need in your business. Apprentices are given top quality training delivered by our training provides and get real ICT experience backed by industry recognised qualifications including MCSE, MCSA, MTA, and MOS.

How Microsoft Apprenticeships help your business grow:

An effective response to the digital skills gap is to grow and nurture the skills you need within your own business. Microsoft Apprenticeships help you do exactly that. They cover the most in-demand roles and requirements, and theyre suitable for school-leavers, graduates, and existing staff.

92% of apprentices stay on with the company they started with.

Our network of trusted providers organise placements, facilitate offsite training, arrange assessments, and provide mentoring.

Learning is based on standards developed by industry and recognised by Government. Each standard sets out what the apprentices will do, the skills involved, and how candidates will be assessed. This is a minimum framework – providers are free to add content and broaden the experience offered.

Each programme includes a core Microsoft Certification Path, and higher level courses can also lead to an HND, degree, or postgraduate study.

Invest in the future of your workforce with an apprenticeship programme

In order for us to work together in closing the skills gaps, we feel apprenticeships are one of the areas that can make an impact. So if youre currently looking for new employees, review the gap in your organisation. See if it could be suitable for an apprentice. Then, choose a programme which fits the skill sets required and work with one of our apprenticeship providers to help you find the right talent.

Find out more

Invest in your future workforce: Hiring an apprentice

How to deliver a successful apprenticeship programme – learnings from our our journey

Choosing an apprenticeship as a route into the working world

About the author

Liz Penning is our Partner Skills Lead, within Partner Business and Development in One Commercial Partner UK. Her role is focused on setting the UK strategy for Partner learning and executing on this. This can be anything from working on training events such as workshops, hacks and hands on labs, all the way to landing new programmes, such as the Partner Skills Initiative, to working on plans with our Partners to help grow a continuous learning culture. Liz also leads the Apply section of our Digital Skills Programme, which focuses on Apprenticeships for Partners and Customers.

Having been at Microsoft for nine years, she has a lot of experience working with our network of Partners. Over that time, there has been one consistent message, which is the lack of skills within the market. Skills have a direct correlation to the growth of our Partners and Customers businesses and if we can help provide them with the right resources and programmes to engage in learning and new talent, we will get that one step closer in closing the skills gap together. Liz is extremely passionate about Early in Career and diversity – there are many young people who need that extra help to realise their potential, regardless of their background or situation.

The post Building your talent pipeline with the Microsoft Apprenticeship Programme appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

At Microsoft, our apprenticeship programme sits beautifully alongside our core vision of empowering every person on the planet to achieve more. Apprenticeships are a great way empower young people to grow and develop new skills that prepare them for the future of work. This gives them the opportunity to start career paths that perhaps wouldnt have been open to them before.

I am passionate about how apprenticeships can open up opportunity. But with that opportunity comes a great level of responsibility for employers to ensure the experience they create not only for the apprentices, but also for the apprentice managers and the business as a whole. It needs to be well thought out, structured, and planned.

National Apprentice Week is a time for us to celebrate the success of apprentices. It’s also a chance for me to reflect internally at our business to see the impact that our apprenticeship programme delivers currently and how we can deliver further impact in the future.

It is also a time to look around at the amazing work our partners and customers are doing and take learnings back in our business as well. Apprenticeship programmes keep evolving and we’ll continue to make adjustments as we go. This is especially important now as the world of work evolves to embrace the fourth industrial revolution.

I wanted to share an insight into my thinking and share what I am doing during this very important week in the apprenticeship calendar. For anyone involved in apprenticeships, its a great opportunity to review your learning and go revisit the basics.

Go back to basics

I am a big believer and advocate that all great apprenticeship programmes are built on strong foundations. If you dont have a strong structure it is hard to build a good programme. When building your strong foundations, you also need to think about how you scale. What works for 10 apprentices may not work for 30.

My eight back to basic apprentice programme foundations are:

1. Develop a strong plan for the programme delivery, leveraging the right training providers to support you
2. Ensure you have the right management programme in place
3. Explore the job roles covered by the programme and see if these can be expanded and if they are the right fit for those who are early in career
4. Consider how you can create a great apprentice experience
5. Regularly review your recruitment and selection process
6. Provide apprentice managers with the right training and resources to support them along the journey
7. Keep the wider HR team in the loop
8. Ensure you have regular communication with apprentices and their managers

I am going to pick out three key areas that I will be looking at during National Apprentice Week to understand how I can improve, learn, and grow on what Microsoft is doing internally.

1. Delivering a successful apprenticeship programme

At Microsoft, our internal programme is delivered by six providers. We have created a nurturing partnering environment where our consortium of providers work together with myself and the wider business to develop the right programmes that ensures we deliver maximum business impact. We are one team and we share as much as we can commercially to create a consistent experience for our apprentices and their managers. Creating metrics and having regular reporting reviews with our training providers is a key part of our programme delivery to ensure we’re on the right track.

2. Ensuring regular communication

Strong programme management will help keeps you on track with upcoming milestones, helps spot issues, and is the heart and soul of your delivery. We are really working to now develop a ‘hands on approach’ at scale as our internal programme grows. To ensure success in this area, you need regular communication with the apprentices, their managers and the training provider.

3. Aligning the right candidate with the right role and setting expectations

With the introduction of apprenticeship standards, the way we now approach the delivery of apprenticeship programmes has changed. Getting the match between the apprenticeship programme and the job role that an apprentice will complete is top of my list. This has involved a totally new way for us to generate demand, and what we are asking the business to do before an apprentice starts. We work backwards, starting with the End Point Assessment and have created a learning culture with our manager community. This helps them understand more about their accountabilities and responsibilities. A manager who is aware of their role in the success of their apprentice and that understands their obligations throughout the programme will create a more structured job role and experience for the apprentice. Ultimately, if we do this part right then we can be more accurate when describing the job role to any prospective apprentices and can set the right expectations from the beginning. This ensures the right match of roles and candidate. Dont underestimate the impact of this part of the puzzle on the success of your apprenticeship programme.

Continuous learning and development

Creating a sustainable, well thought through programme gives apprentices and managers the best opportunity to be successful. During National Apprenticeship Week I will take in all of the fantastic work being undertaken by the many different people involved in delivering our apprenticeship programme and look at how I can create more opportunities for apprentices in Microsoft to achieve more.I may have only touched on three out of my eight apprentice programme foundations. But, by looking at just the three it will help you understand where I will be looking at opportunities to grow and develop myself and the internal apprenticeship programme at Microsoft.

Everything we do internally is shared with the wider, larger programme that is used by our partners and customers so you can be confident that our apprenticeship providers will help you deliver a great experience for your own apprentices.

I hope that in sharing my own learnings and how we will be reviewing our apprenticeship programme ahead of National Apprenticeship Week, it can help you identify how you might improve your own apprenticeship programme to continue to deliver success and develop your future talent pipeline.

Create a great apprentice experience

About the author

I am the UK Apprentice Lead for Microsoft in the HR team. Working with apprenticeships since 2012, I also have worked with SMEs creating, designing, and delivering large corporate apprenticeship programmes. My role at Microsoft is all about creating and developing an apprenticeship strategy that supports our UK business and delivers an exceptional experience for both our apprentices and our business.

The post How to deliver a successful apprenticeship programme – learnings from our own journey appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Earlier this week my nine-year-old niece challenged me to a coding competition. We would both design a bird feeder using BBC micro:bits and arts and crafts materials, and my brother-in-law would choose a winner. The week before, the challenge was to design an accessible doorbell. And the week before that was a traffic light. Those of you familiar with Microsofts MakerChampion challenges should recognise that were quickly working our way through! And for those of you who are unfamiliar with the projects, MakerChampion challenges are a series of activities that encourage young people to use micro:bit to respond to real world challenges with the aim of inspiring young children to pursue STEM careers so we can address the digital skills gap.

When we first launched the MakerChampion challenges two years ago, my niece could not have been less interested. My attempts to engage her usually failed, and the micro:bit stocking present was relegated to under her bed for over a year. Drama was life for this seven-year-old, and no charm or coaxing would change that.

However, as luck would have it, I managed to find a way to combine the two drama and coding when the latest tranche of MakerChampion projects needed an actress to face the campaign. While the lure of a real life filming experience was what actually got my niece to Microsoft UK headquarters one Saturday morning; it was the resulting discovery that coding is fun that has since filled my weekends with questions about technology, requests for Minecraft games, and coding competitions.

Young girls perceptions of STEM

One possible reason for this shift in attitude is that my niece was finally able to see coding in a creative context. By placing the micro:bit (which, admittedly, looks slightly baffling in isolation) in the wider context of creating a wearable pedometer, or personalising trainers with flashing lights, she was able to see that everyday things she considered creative are actually powered by technology. And that developing technology through coding can be fun.

A recent Microsoft report found that 91% of the 1,000 girls and young women interviewed described themselves as creative and stressed the importance of creativity in any future career.[1] But very few of those same girls believed that STEM subjects were creative. As a result, few were interested in finding out more about any STEM subject let alone pursuing a career in one.When placed in the wider context of the UKs growing digital skills shortage, the fact that girls do not see STEM subjects as a viable career is something the tech industry needs to urgently address. More than 500,000 highly skilled workers will be needed to fill digital roles by 2022. That is three times the number of UK computer science graduates from the past ten years only 5% of which have been female.

Closing the digital skills gap

This growing skills gap was one of the reasons Microsoft UK launched its national digital skills programme in 2017. An initiative to provide free courses and resources for everyone, whether they are digital novices or IT professionals. The Digital Skills Programme aims to accelerate the rate at which citizens, both young and old, can develop the digital skills and qualifications they need.

But closing the skills gap requires the tech sector to improve its talent diversity. This is a topic close to the heart of Microsoft UKs CEO, Cindy Rose. She talks a lot about the economic and commercial benefits relating to increasing gender diversity in the workplace, citing research that suggests that this could add as much as 11% to the worlds GDP by 2025. While an organisation with 30% female leadership could increase profitability by 15%. [2]

Encouraging young girls to think about STEM careers

Improving the gender balance in technology roles is critical but requires us to think outside the box when it comes engaging young girls. We need to challenge their perceptions and show that technology can be a creative career.

Microsofts vision is to increase the number of girls considering digital careers and to support those young women through their working lives. The MakerChampion challenges and #MakeWhatsNext video series aim to engage girls at a younger age. While DigiGirlz camps and the Digital Skills Programme equip young women with the tools and mentors they need to succeed. Our apprenticeship programme provides young students with an alternative route into a technical role too, combining hands-on learning experiences with qualification-led training to help them develop the digital skills they need to succeed in the future of work.

To celebrate International Womens Day this year, we will be equipping our employees to deliver MakerChampion sessions at various schools across the UK to help inspire young girls to pursue STEM subjects and consider a career in technology. But we can’t face the digital skills gap alone. We need your help too. Why not organise a session at a school near you?

Get involved

Inspire young girls to pursue STEM careers

About the author

Sarah is the National Skills Lead at Microsoft UK, working with schools, partners, and customers to help address the technical skills shortage in the UK. She is focused on helping to grow the talent pipeline by encouraging young people to think about careers in the tech industry.

[1] Closing the STEM Gap

[2] McKinsey & Company and the Peterson Institute

The post Inspiring young girls to pursue STEM careers appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Exams. Who doesnt dread the thought of long, painful hours of back-to-back, last-minute revision in the library? Worst of all is the guilt you feel when youre doing anything else other than staring at reams of sloppily written class notes, waiting for inspiration to hit.Its in our best interest as students to learn when we need to take a break. Not only to relax, but to improve our focus and concentration. As we’re now well into the new year, let’s take a look at the importance of scheduling much-needed study breaks for the upcoming exam period, and believe it or not, how a game of FIFA may actually help improve your performance.

The importance of taking study breaks

Now, Ill start off by saying Im not recommending bringing your TV and Xbox to the library (however fun that may sound). You should instead focus on creating an effective schedule which allows for recreational downtime and enhances your productivity.

Since joining Microsoft in July 2018 and starting my career, I’ve discovered that this mentality is just as applicable in the workplace. According to a 2015 Bupa study, less than 29 percent of workers take a lunch break. However, 52 percent say that skipping a lunch break puts them in a bad mood, with 40 percent saying it makes them feel unproductive in the afternoon.

My colleagues have really helped me to understand why it’s so important to take a break. Take a walk throughthe Microsoft Campus and you’ll find Xbox consoles, collaborative areas, and multiple coffee shops. The importance of downtime and getting that much-needed head space has certainly been considered and incorporated into our whole working environment.

Make time for yourself

I’ve discovered that, where possible, a schedule of 9-5.30pm with intermittent ten minute breaks throughout the day works best for me to be as productive as possible. Many studies have found that just pausing from the daily hustle for brief periods of time leads to increased productivity, success, and the development of a positive mindset. I also try my best to not work through lunch, choosing to take a walk around the campus instead to clear my head.

Making sure I get out of the office at a decent time means that I’m still left with plenty of time in the evening to relax and unwind after a long day at work. For me, I use this time to immerse myself into a new world by playing a few games. But everybody is different. You might find reading a book or listening to a podcast is better suited to you. It’s all about finding the most effective way for you to improve your work-life balance.

Be part of a team

When revising you may often find that having a revision partner will encourage both of you to stay focused. It helps having somebody who’s working towards the same goal as you. The same can be said about gaming. Working for Microsoft has meant that I have had to move far away from home. Being able to catch up with friends or millions of other players most nights, across a multitude of different media types helps me reconnect and wind down after a long day. Without an online community to rely on, we must be careful to avoid isolating ourselves, particularly during stressful exam periods.

In recent years we’ve seen a trend towards games with clans or squads. Everyone working together to achieve a combined goal. Often, these teams are made up of a variety of roles whereby every player is important to the end goal. I would always recommend you get involved with teamwork and being online will provide you with a contrasting experience to feeling alone with your text books. Granted, having time alone to reflect is equally as important and something that we need to make time for in our daily schedule too.

Schedule time to have fun

Studies have found that just pausing from the daily hustle for brief periods of time leads to increased productivity and the development of a positive mindset. The immersion generated from surrounding yourself in a lifelike 3D game, the creation of a character, and the ability to dive into this ethereal world promotes enjoyment, and a sense of relaxation whilst ushering in a sense of escape from the daily struggles of revision.

The absolute best way to help get out of a revision slump is to schedule a study break and have fun. Gaming offers us this platform. You may find Minecraft as a means to relax by building your own world; FIFA will let you take control of your favourite football teams, and Halo may be the perfect title for you to explore outside of your world, visiting planets and galaxies far away in an immersive, futuristic game. Dont let the stress of exams lead to an imbalance of work compared to time to relax. Look after yourself, put yourself first, and enjoy the technology built to encourage good mental health.

It may sound ridiculous to some, but not only have I found games beneficial to get myself back ‘into the zone’ after a few low energy, demotivating days in the university library, but I’m also having fun and catching up with friends whilst doing so. These games are really starting to change real-world perceptions beyond the sofa.

Find out more

8 tips for a less stressful work-life balance

About the author

Craig Massie is an intern in the Specialist Team Unit, working closely with start-ups, Fortune 500 companies and software vendors to help them take advantage of technical solutions so they can achieve more. Craig is a big advocate of time management and maintaining a positive work-life balance.

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