Perth{web}Girls aim to bring together women of all ages, from as young as 5 years of age, to celebrate the growth of women in tech. “The enthusiasm for learning is infectious, and we love seeing young girls getting involved.” Kate Kirwin, founder of Perth{web}Girls tells us. “Thanks to the support of Spacecubed and BHP, we’ve welcomed over 2,000 women to Perth{web}Girls coding workshops, and interest and enthusiasm increases each time – with our most recent session reaching capacity in just 12 hours.” Kate said.
With this new initiative, Web{girls} Plus, successful applications in the course will enjoy a combination of in-person and virtual mentoring, providing each of them with the essentials required to pursue careers in technology-focussed roles. Conducted on a part-time basis, participants will undertake four unique projects focussed on building an enterprise web application using the HTML/CSS, Python, Django and React JS protocols.
“In response to feedback from across industries and our workshop participants, Web{girls} Plus addresses a lack of comprehensive hands-on training programs and upskilling opportunities.” Kate continued.
The launch party featured some incredible women in leading roles, inspiring the crowd to follow their own dreams. Kate was joined by Michelle Sandford from Microsoft, Jodie Gillespie from Robert Walters, Kieran McCluskey from BHP, and recent tech graduate, Beth Rivers, to highlight the fact that only 28% of tech roles are filled by women, even with 75% of the fastest growing occupations requiring tech skills.
Diane Jurgens, BHP’s Chief Technology Officer, commented that initiatives like Web{girls}Plus are a cornerstone of the Company’s desire to facilitate development opportunities for women in technology in order to address a historical gender imbalance. “We’re committed to creating pathways for women to learn – and be as passionate about – science, technology, engineering and maths (or STEM for short) as we are,” Diane said.
“The pilot of Web{girls}Plus in Perth this year is a precursor to our sponsorship of broadened programs in Western Australia and Queensland in 2020, and we’re delighted to be partnering with Spacecubed to make it happen,” Diane concluded.
Applications are now open for a pilot program which will provide places for 10 members of the community and 10 BHP employees. Applications close on Tuesday, 11 June and submissions will be reviewed by an independent panel from Spacecubed. To learn more about Spacecubed’s facilities, and how you can join an innovative community to entrepreneurs, business owners and freelancers, click here to book a tour.
