Hundreds of Moldovan school girls, face-to-face with female IT experts

ATIC organises guidance sessions for girls from secondary schools, high schools and technical colleges from across the country. Credit: UN Women Moldova/ ATIC

 

New opportunities for girls who want to pursue an IT career. Between March and May 2019, the National Association of Information Technology and Communications Companies (ATIC) organised guidance sessions for girls from secondary schools, high schools and technical colleges from across the country. Young women will have the opportunity to receive valuable information about various IT specialties directly from subject-matter experts. They will be also informed about the opportunities existing in this sector and will receive precious advice regarding the steps they need to take in order to become part of the IT community.

The events are part of the “Choose a Career in IT” national campaign and interested young women can enroll by filling out a form: http://bit.ly/2uo4UMT.

The national campaign for promoting an IT Career is conducted by the National Association of Information Technology and Communications Companies (ATIC), with the support of UN Women, Sweden and the United States Agency for International Development.

Irina Cozma, Programme Associate, UN Women Moldova: “Empowering women is it at the core mandate of UN Women, as gender inequality is still present on the labour market. That is why we support projects that encourage girls and women to pursue careers, including in IT, to have more development opportunities, earn more and live decently.”

Young women will be able to learn more about different career paths in IT. Credit: UN Women Moldova/ ATIC

 

Career guidance events have a unique format and take place on weekends at Tekwill, intended mainly for high school pupils. These include sessions addressing specific career paths in IT, including programming, testing, application management, cyber security, etc. Young women will be able to learn more about different career paths in IT, the roles they can have in this field, the basic requirements and rigours, and will get advice, practical suggestions on the actions they can take to get prepared for an IT career.

The sessions are held by experienced female and male IT experts who share with young girls the secrets of a successful career and offer them valuable lessons to achieve  a performance in this area, and encourage them to follow their vocation and aspirations.

The sessions are held by experienced female and male IT. Credit: UN Women Moldova/ ATIC

 

 

Rodica Ciorba, Mentor: “It is well known that we have a digital future ahead of us, and developing skills in this field is a safety net for everyone. Programming, which is a kind of alphabet of digitalisation, will underpin all future progress. Therefore, although it is a quite challenging niche, it will generate most of the job offers. The ongoing development of this field poses the need to grow the labour force. I hope these guidance sessions will encourage young women to explore a number of IT fields and develop more skills that will help them assert themselves in this sector.”

Over 140 young girls from all over the country, of different ages, already participated in the first two sessions that took place in Chisinau during March 22-23. Moldovan girls accepted with enthusiasm the challenge to have a look in the ‘backstage’ of an IT career, having in common the interest and curiosity to find out about the opportunities offered by the IT industry.

Ana-Maria Vechiu, participant: “I am a fourth-year student at the Center of Excellence in Economics and Finance, Computer Science Department. I discovered the IT field a long time ago because both my sister and my brother are involved in it. They influenced me, but of course they did not force me to study computer science. IT offers a lot of opportunities and is not only about programming. There is also testing, design — you can do whatever you want. I am passionate about law, and I think I could study informational law, although at this early stage I'm sure I'm going to study at the Technical University of Moldova. Many of my colleagues chose databases, graphic design, programming, and our teachers tell us that regardless the specialization we choose, each of us will have a place in this huge world of information technologies.”

Cristina Ciobanu, pupil in 12^th grade, Theoretical High School ‘Mesterul Manole’, Salcuta village, Causeni district: “I tend to develop myself as much as possible. I tried robotics, programming, and I will continue to explore other IT options. I will make my choice based on things that are the closest to my heart.”

The National Association of Information Technology and Communications Comopanies, with the support of its development partners, hosted several career guidance events for young and potential professionals. For example, the six editions of „Choose a Career in IT” campaign, implemented in educational institutions of Moldova, involved over 100 career guidance sessions bringing together over 8,000 pupils from 100 educational institutions.