Reflect Digital is set to host it’s second, one-day digital conference in Maidstone in a bid to inspire students about the opportunities in the digital industry.
Aspiration Digital is being held at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls (MGGS) on the 20th of November following the success of the event last year in which around 200 students and teachers attended.
Earlier this year, Reflect Digital carried out a survey which found that 63% of students across the UK believe more needs to be done at schools, colleges and universities to educate them about the number of careers in the digital world.
The study also revealed that 90% would benefit from learning about digital marketing/coding in schools, colleges and universities.
According to the Government, the tech sector in the UK is growing at 50% faster than the rest of the UK economy.
In light of this, Reflect Digital has teamed up with Maidstone Grammar School for Girls again, to highlight just how many jobs there are in the digital world including; marketing, design, development, search engine optimisation (SEO) and account management.
A number of guest speakers from other Kent-based agencies including AM Marketing, Redsprout and Yoyo will be in attendance as well as guest speakers from our main sponsor Dovetail Games and our partner agency LAB.
Picture: Becky Simms, CEO at Reflect Digital is joined by Helen Grant (Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Maidstone and The Weald) Deborah Stanley, Headteacher at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, Neil Walker, Assistant Head of Business, ICT, Computing and Economics at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls and students at Aspiration Digital 2018.
Becky Simms, CEO at Reflect Digital, said:
“The aim of the event is to educate sixth form students about the varying career paths, the types of roles, the ways to get into the industry and more than anything to inspire them with some of our industry’s best speakers.
“The students will be hearing from a real variety of speakers, from startup directors to in-house professionals, I’m so excited about our lineup.
“I am excited to be back at Maidstone Girls Grammar School for a second year, being my old school, hosting it there means a lot to me.
“MGGS were more than happy to welcome us back and have afforded us space to increase our numbers by over 50%.
“There is a real shortage of talented digital professionals looking for roles in Kent at the moment.
“We always have the challenge of talented individuals being attracted to work in London being in such close proximity to Kent.”
Becky adds:
“As we progress fast towards being a ‘digital first’ nation, we need to ensure we are investing at the very beginning of the digital journey and developing the right skills to support the future digital economy.
“We cannot expect the onus to be on the teaching staff to know about all of the varying career opportunities out there, we need businesses to engage more with schools.”
“I’ve been in this sector for over 10 years and it is always changing, and always will be. Not only has our sector changed but workplaces, in general, have changed and will continue to do so “
Neil Walker, Head of Business, ICT, Computing and Economics at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, said:
“I don't think many young people really understand the vast array of opportunities and career options that are available to them in the digital industry. Maybe because it is so fast-paced and changes so frequently.
“Aspiration Digital is about learning about the wide array of jobs that are on offer within the industry and how students can go about putting themselves in the best position to take advantage of all these great opportunities.
“Following the success of the conference last year, several students in our Year 13 Computing class are all applying for a digital degree/apprenticeship course and many more of our business and media students are exploring options in this field which would not have been the case before Aspiration Digital.
“The list of speakers on the day is very diverse so there is sure to be lots that will interest everyone who attends.
“There are so many helpful tips, hints and advice that is given out by all our guests so everyone is certain to come away from the day with lots of positives.”
