IT High Tech Jobs For The Boys
Information technology is regarded more highly by boys than girls as a potentially rewarding career, a MORI survey has revealed.
Boys rated it second only to becoming a professional sportsman as a career choice. It came eighth among the girls whose top three potential jobs were vet, teacher and lawyer.
The survey, commissioned by EMTA, the national training authority for engineering manufacture, found that boys knew more about IT and tended to associate it with interesting jobs.
But only a small majority of girls, 21%, actually thought it boring compared with 15% of boys.
More than one in three of all pupils, 38%, said they were attracted to a career in IT, while three out of four, 78%, reported that they were knowledgeable about the subject.
A large majority also had a favourable impression about the industry. Two out of three, 63%, thought it would be interesting, while just one in ten, 12%, thought IT was just for "computer nerds". The majority, 64%, also thought IT paid good wages.
IT skills were regarded as important for new technology, 83%, manufacturing, 71%, and engineering, 65%.
Dr Michael Sanderson, EMTA chief executive, welcomed the results of the survey which involved 2,365 pupils aged 11-16 in 111 schools.
"It is welcome news, given the importance of IT to the engineering and electronics sector, that the majority of pupils find it interesting and so many are attracted to it as a potential career."
"The future of our industry depends on high tech innovation and development and it is good to learn that the majority of our youngsters recognise the role that IT will play in that future."
Technical details
Fieldwork was conducted between 15 January and 2 March 2001. In total, 2,635 pupils took part at 111 schools in England and Wales.
Data were weighted using a cell weight matrix of gender by age within Government Office Region. The weights for age, sex and region were derived from data supplied by the Department for Education and Employment and the Welsh Assembly.
