Championing Digital Careers
For Leeds' Young People

Can you tell us a bit about your background?

I studied Geography at university – it’s a fantastic subject because it’s all about the study of complex systems and how to make sense of them, which in today’s world is a great base position to have. When I finished university, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I went into consulting because I thought I would get the opportunity to work out what I enjoyed. It was while I was working at Deloitte Consulting that I started to build familiarity with the implementation of IT to support organisational change and better and more efficient process delivery in organisations.

That led me into working on the National Programme for IT in the NHS. In the early noughties it was the largest civil IT project in Europe and the headquarters were based here in Leeds. So that’s how I got into delivering major IT programmes – almost by accident!

How is your current role involved in digital and technology?

The growth of the digital sector is so important to the Leeds economy, so in my role as Chief Officer for Culture and Economy at Leeds City Council I use my knowledge, experience and network to support the sector’s further success. I do this by having a focus on talent and skills initiatives which create opportunities for people to get into the sector and by assisting established businesses, start-ups and scale-ups with business support. My team also supports the thriving digital community by championing and promoting networks including Digital Sport North, FinTech North, Legal Tech in Leeds and the Leeds Digital Festival.

I’m also on the Board of Leeds Digital Ball which is an annual event celebrating the city’s digital and tech community with a focus on raising money for charitable causes that help to close the digital divide. I’m passionate about making digital and technology accessible to everyone in the city and the role that the sector can play in supporting this aim.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s Girl Tech Leeds?

I love seeing the interactions between the volunteers from businesses that support the event and the young people attending. One of the things that really stands out for me from previous events is seeing young women professionals as role models to girls that are still at school. It’s fantastic to see that connection created at Girl Tech and the wide range of women represented, so that as many young people as possible see someone in the industry that looks like them as well.

Why do you think events like Girl Tech Leeds are so important to engage young people with the digital and tech sector?

There are so many fantastic opportunities in the sector, but the sector also needs the talent. So, it’s a two-way street: you’ve got businesses that really need talent; and then you’ve got opportunities to be able to get people into good work that’s got great prospects and can transform their careers.

And all jobs will have some tech element to them. You might be a lawyer first and in tech second, but you’ll need an understanding of digital and technology. So, the more that we encourage girls to understand the exciting world of work and encourage them to try to understand those dynamics and engage with it, the better. Because then the better our economy will be and the better our services will be, because they will be designed for us and be representative of more people in society.

How do you think events like Girl Tech Leeds and programmes like Growing Talent Digital Leeds help to overcome skills and diversity challenges?

The sector has still got an issue with diversity. You can go into tech businesses and there’s still an unequal gender balance, and other protected characteristics are underrepresented as well. That’s a problem because if you think about the further application of technology through artificial intelligence and other tools, if you haven’t got over half the population properly represented in the development of those products, then they’re not going to work well for everybody. It’s also about social background. We need people who’ve had lots of different life experiences to inform tech solutions because everyone uses tech, so it needs to work for everyone.

I think events like Girl Tech help because they bust a lot of myths. You don’t have to have a computer science degree or be a coder to have a fantastic career in tech. If you’re interested in people and understanding how processes work, then there could be a fantastic role for you. Being able to do user-centred design and build skills to understand how systems work and then to communicate that to the coders and people that are using code is really important. If you’re interested in things like ethics, that’s going to become even more important in the tech sector over the coming years because as new technology emerges, we’ll need to think about the ethics of its application, for example how we use artificial intelligence.

What advice would you give to a young person who’s considering a career in digital or tech?

Ask loads of questions and don’t be afraid of getting involved. At Girl Tech, all the volunteers and speakers are there because they want to support you and help you understand what they do and what the opportunities are. So, make sure you take advantage of that!

And I would say do what makes you happy. You’ll do better in academic subjects and jobs that interest you. You’ll be more motivated, find it more rewarding and you’ll continue to learn and grow and thrive.

Eve’s team will be attending Girl Tech Leeds in May. If you’d like to learn more about Girl Tech, please visit aheadpartnership.org.uk/girl-tech or speak to Suzie Bell about how you can get involved through sponsorship: enquiries@aheadpartnership.org.uk