Skills City is set to transform the lives of black women across the North West and inspire their entrepreneurial ambitions in the tech sector by offering fairer access to digital skills training and career opportunities.
Based at HOST in MediaCityUK, Skills City is working closely with employers and the CEO and co-founder of Niyo Enterprise, Oyin Adebayo, to ensure that there are learning and employment opportunities available for black women in the North West and beyond.
Skills City’s specialist Skills Bootcamps, Black Codhers software engineering and Black Disruptors data analytics have been created specifically for black women, offering free, tailored access to training and careers.
While 17% of women work in the tech sector in the UK, only around 0.7% are from a black, African, Caribbean or black British background according to BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
Women from a BAME background are also less likely to have leadership roles in the tech sector, despite having a higher level of education than other groups.
In a bid to challenge this gender diversity disparity, Skills City aims to break the barriers of entry to the tech sector facing black women to create a supportive community for them to access digital skills training and secure employment in the industry.
There is a huge demand from black women to learn new digital skills as Niyo Network’s Black Codhers bootcamp recently received over 3,000 applications from all over the world. As a result, it has upskilled 50 black women into software developer roles in high profile companies such as Citibank and KPMG.
Oyin Adebayo, CEO and co-founder of Niyo Enterprise, said: “We are excited to be working with HOST and the wider Skills City co-operative to ensure that black women are part of pioneering change in the tech industry.
“Our major aim has always been to see as many black women as possible in high impact industries. We believe that with this partnership, black women would not just be able to dream but also create and thrive in the tech industry.”
Mo Isap, CEO of IN4.0 Group, operators of HOST, said: “We are proud to be working with Oyin and Niyo Enterprise to offer a range of opportunities and choices to black women in the North West so they can be fully supported throughout their journey into tech careers. Whether they are seeking a job in the tech industry, looking to upskill in digital or aspire to be a tech entrepreneur, we want to ensure that there are opportunities available for them here at HOST and across the region.
“Supporting diversity and inclusion and removing the barriers to entry to the tech sector is at the heart of Skills City. Our ambition is to continue to support women who remain largely underrepresented in the tech community, which is why in this exciting new chapter for HOST, we have committed that 50% of all our learners will be women.”