The Digital Xtra Fund has become Scotland’s first charity dedicated to supporting a full range of digital skills initiatives for young people aged 16 and under after receiving official charitable status from Scottish charity regulator, OSCR.

Digital Xtra is now calling on Scotland’s tech industry to contribute donations, sponsorships and offers of in kind support to ensure that extracurricular digital initiatives are available to young people wherever they live and whatever their background.

Funding has also been provided by the Digital Scotland Business Excellence Partnership, whose partners include Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Funding Council, Education Scotland, ScotlandIS, and industry representatives.

The announcement was made by Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP, Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, speaking in Glasgow at Tackling the Technology Gender Gap Together 2017.

A key objective of the new charity is to promote gender balance by encouraging more girls to engage in digital and consider STEM subjects while in school.

Ms Somerville said: “The Digital Xtra Fund is an example of the Scottish Government’s determination to close the digital skills gap faced by all sectors across the economy.

“Investment in the digital skills of our young people is crucial to Scotland’s future which is why we are extremely proud to fund Digital Xtra which has been a key partnership project from the Digital Technologies Skills Investment Plan.

“We must provide opportunities for our children and young people to develop their digital skills from a young age and Digital Xtra is doing just that, offering thousands of young people opportunities to strengthen their skills in this area through engagement in a range of innovative projects.”

The new Scottish Government Digital Strategy sets out its ambition to create conditions in which Scotland can increase the number of people employed in digital technology roles to 150,000 by 2021.

Increasing digital participation and preparing your people for the digital future by improving digital skills levels will be an integral component of this strategy. Career opportunities are significant, with an estimated 12,800 job opportunities available in Scotland annually.

The Digital Xtra Fund is appealing for support from companies that wish to support young people and want to see a coordinated, sustainable and inclusive approach, gaining maximum value from coalescing funds.

BT Scotland and Be Positive are two of the first industry supporters to have made a contribution to the Digital Xtra Fund.

Brendan Dick, Director of BT Scotland, said: “Digital skills are increasingly seen as a prerequisite, as important to the prospects of young people today as reading and writing. It’s essential our young people are equipped with the skills they need for the world of work, and the public, private and voluntary sectors all have a contribution to make in giving them the best possible chances.”

He continued: “Supporting Digital Xtra will help us build a culture of tech literacy, as BT works to reach five million young people across the UK by 2020. We hope many Scottish businesses will join us in backing the Digital Xtra Fund.”

Vicky Di Ciacca, Director at Be Positive, said: “It is vitally important that all young people are equipped to take on the challenge of our increasingly digital world. We are a small business and expect our future employees to lead the way when it comes to technology and how to harness it. Regardless of an individual’s ambitions and aspirations, digital skills are integral to engaging in the world of work and beyond.”

Digital Xtra will work to build stronger links between young people and Scotland’s tech industry, promote the range of pathways into the tech sector, and broaden the talent pipeline by targeting underrepresented groups.

The Digital Xtra Fund was launched in May 2016, and has to date distributed £400,000 to organisations delivering extracurricular activities, with funding provided by the partners of the Digital Scotland Business Excellence Partnership.

The 22 projects funded so far are expected to reach 15,000 school pupils across every local authority area in Scotland. Funded initiatives include the training of over 140 librarians to deliver Code Clubs, the expansion of Apps for Good across Scotland and initiatives that use the design of lighthouses to introduce ‘little engineers’ to STEM concepts.

Phil Worms, Computing and Schools Project Lead at ScotlandIS, said: “It’s our aim to ensure that young people of all ages and backgrounds throughout Scotland have the opportunity to develop the skills required to thrive in our digital world. We need to inspire our younger generations, especially girls, in technology and digital. The Digital Xtra Fund charity will not only help us achieve this but will also offer tangible support to our education sector and act as a vehicle for industry support. ”

Paul Zealey, Digital Xtra Fund trustee and Skills Planning Lead at SDS, said: “Digital Xtra’s work to date is incredibly impressive, having impacted the lives of thousands of young people across Scotland as they become engaged and inspired by our digital world. We are off to a great start with the funding that Digital Xtra has already received and we hope that this will encourage others to follow suit and show their support for the charity.”

Joyce MacLennan, Head of Finance and Business Services at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said: “We need to offer opportunities for all of Scotland’s future young workforce to develop digital skills, especially young people in more rural areas who struggle to attend events or access activities. Digital Xtra helps overcome barriers, increase participation and explore opportunities to extend the reach of successful projects.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. A Board of trustees has been appointed to set the strategic direction of the charity and evaluate and review the initiatives that will receive funding. This expert panel is made up of representatives from across Scotland’s digital technology industry, including iomart, Fujitsu, Dogfi.sh Mobile, SCVO, ScotlandIS and Skills Development Scotland.

2. The Digital Xtra Fund will announce its plans and application processes in the near future, and it expects to welcome applications from existing initiatives looking to expand their activities, as well as from new and innovative projects that could be rolled out further in future. All applicants must be able to demonstrate potential for scalability and sustainability, as well as showing how they will reach previously underrepresented groups.

3. Digital Xtra Fund is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) registered in Scotland SC047272