The Hg Foundation partners with Speakers for Schools to launch ‘IntoTech’ - The UK based tech programme for under-16-year-olds, creating over 95,000 opportunities for underrepresented young people.

To address the UK’s persistent diversity gap in the tech industry, The Hg Foundation are partnering with Speakers for Schools – the UK’s largest social mobility charity and provider of work experience - to launch a new tech programme. This ambitious partnership - jointly funded by both charities - will ensure over 95,000 opportunities for state school educated students with an emphasis on young people from under-represented backgrounds, to explore and pursue careers in technology.

The UK tech sector is a cornerstone of the economy, employing over 1.7 million people and contributing over £150 billion annually, but it continues to struggle with diversity. Currently, only 9% of tech employees come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and 29% are female or non-binary, even as 95% of employers report difficulties in recruiting talent. The ‘IntoTech’ initiative aims to bridge this gap by demystifying careers across the sector, providing high-quality experiences of the workplace and inspiring the next generation of the tech workforce, as well as broadening the scope of who enters it.

“This is a pivotal moment for the UK tech sector,” said Nick Brook, CEO of Speakers for Schools. “Partnering with The Hg Foundation allows us to deliver a seismic shift in the uptake of tech careers among underrepresented groups. By combining inspirational talks from tech pioneers with meaningful work experiences, we’re not just opening doors, we’re breaking them down.”

The programme will span four years, starting with a pilot year that includes 10,600 opportunities created for young people. If successful, the following three years will provide further 84,400 opportunities to state school students UK-wide. The initiative will be independently evaluated, with the results aiming to inform other transformational social mobility initiatives across multiple industries and lead to concrete national policy recommendations.

Tom Attwood, Chair of The Hg Foundation, echoed the importance of early career exposure as a speaker for Speakers for Schools: “Too many young people, especially girls, are put off tech careers early on in school, and simply don’t realise the vast range of opportunities in the sector. Our partnership with Speakers for Schools is aimed to make a step change in attitudes and opportunities for young people. By giving pupils access to inspirational figures, real experience of the workplace and expert mentorship to thousands of young people, we hope that we will help many more to choose a pathway into tech that will be good for social mobility and for the country’s future skills needs.”

The programme is key to the Government’s broader mission to kickstart economic growth by shaping a diverse, well-prepared tech workforce. “Every young person deserves an equal chance to succeed,” said Andrew Law, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Speakers for Schools. “The tech sector is not just critical to our economy—it’s the future. We’re thrilled to empower the next generation to lead in this dynamic field.”

Speakers for Schools empowers young people from state schools and colleges to reach their potential, irrespective of background or circumstance. The charity leads the way in offering high-quality work experience and inspirational talks from the likes of Bill Gates, Baroness Martha Lane Fox, Spotify, Kainos, Google and Snapchat. Since 2012, it has supported over one million young people into career opportunities.

For more information, please contact: Matthew Kent, Press Officer
Email: matthew.kent@speakersforschools.org
Phone: 07730 785572


Notes to Editors

About Speakers for Schools:
Speakers for Schools is a social mobility charity, founded in 2010 by ITV’s Political Editor Robert Peston and supported by the Law Family Charitable Foundation. Its mission is to help level the playing field for young people of all backgrounds, increasing access to the same prestigious networks available to the top fee-paying schools in the UK. It provides talks from influential figures as well as work experiences linking state school students to hundreds of the UK’s leading employers.

About The Hg Foundation:
The Hg Foundation’s vision is that the tech workforce of the future harnesses the talents of all, regardless of background.  It does this by supporting education and employment-based programmes across the UK, USA and Europe where it can demonstrate measurable, long-term and scalable impact and make a difference to those that need it most.  To date it has committed $30m to programmes that will reach over 50,000 young people and adults from under-represented backgrounds. The Foundation’s work is solely funded by Hg – a leading investor in European and transatlantic software and services businesses. The Hg Foundation is registered Charity no. 1189216.

About IntoTech:
Launching in the 2024/25 academic year, IntoTech is an initiative by Speakers for Schools and The Hg Foundation to bring high-impact tech career opportunities to students in state secondary schools. The programme focuses on inspiration, work experience, and sustained pathways into the tech sector, with a special emphasis on girls and disadvantaged youth. IntoTech will engage students from Years 8 to 11 across state secondary schools, providing a three-year journey that includes inspirational talks, industry spotlights, multi-day work experiences and access to mentoring, both virtually and in-person. The programme will start with an implementation year and then last for three further years. In year one, Speakers for Schools will secure commitments from schools, employers and speakers, and pilot the IntoTech programme through 10,600 opportunities. This will develop the right structure for Years 2-4 where a further 84,400 opportunities will be offered overall.

Research references:
Mol Learn: What's driving rapid growth in the UK tech industry?
Tech Talent Charter: Diversity in Tech - An annual report tracking diversity in technology across the UK