Computer Science Graduates (Gender Breakdown)

– in the Scottish Parliament at on 12 November 2015.

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Photo of Willie Coffey Willie Coffey Scottish National Party

2. To ask the Scottish Government how many people have graduated in computer science from Scottish universities this year, broken down by gender. (S4O-04782)

Photo of Alasdair Allan Alasdair Allan Scottish National Party

The latest Higher Education Statistics Agency figures show that 3,150 Scottish university students graduated in computer science in 2013-14, which is a 10.5 per cent increase since 2007-08. Of the 3,150 students who graduated in 2013-14, 2,525 were male and 625 were female, which is a split of 80 per cent male and 20 per cent female. The Scottish Government is committed to addressing the underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering and maths courses and careers. That includes computer science and other information technology-related courses.

Photo of Willie Coffey Willie Coffey Scottish National Party

The minister will know that the software industry in Scotland needs about 10,000 new entrants every year to keep pace with demand, and the European Commission predicts a shortage of nearly 1 million by 2020. What additional measures can the Government consider to improve the position in Scotland, particularly in schools and particularly among females?

Photo of Alasdair Allan Alasdair Allan Scottish National Party

The member is right to say that there is a skills shortage in this area, that the industry is crying out for new people and that the Government, as well as the industry, is sending out the message that we want to recruit more young women on to computing and information and communication technology courses. The Scottish Government is doing a number of things on this front, not least through initiatives such as CodeClan, which is an industry-led academy that works with the industry, and the dragonfly programme, which promotes engineering and science careers specifically among secondary 2 girls. Those and other measures are designed to make it clear that, as is being made clear in primary school, there are no boys’ jobs and girls’ jobs in Scotland. That very much applies to computing science as it does to other science subjects.