The growth of hitech industries in Ireland has been nothing short of phenomenal in recent years. The demand for suitably qualified staff is at an all-time high with companies increasingly being forced to look abroad to recruit. Despite this, the number of female students going on to do technological courses at third level is only a fraction of male participation.
As a result, Carlow RTC has set up TECH-AWAKE, a programme designed specifically for female Transition Year students. The 10-week course focuses on technology awareness and is sponsored by the Department of Education. It aims to shatter the long-held perception of technology as a male preserve, giving female students a practical introduction to what a career in technology actually entails.
So far 60 Transition Year students from schools in counties Carlow and Kildare have received certificates of participation in TECHAWAKE. At the moment about 13 per cent of first-year electronic engineering students in Carlow RTC are female. This relatively low participation in engineering courses is typical throughout all third-level institutions both here and in the rest of the EU.
"Many female students tend to drift into traditionally female subjects such as home economics," says Brendan Laffen, of Carlow RTC. "So this is a pro-active effort to show them the alternatives before they make their minds up as to what subjects to pick. TECH-AWAKE is all about taking the fear out of technology."
The emphasis is on hands-on experience. Students attend laboratory sessions once a week in Carlow RTC, introducing them to some of the practical applications of electronics, computing, physics and maths. They also visit Intel Ireland, the Kildare-based manufacturer of personal computer, networking and communication products. At the end of the programme a series of career talks is given by women working in technological industries.
Mary O'Connor, the TECH-AWAKE course director, believes strongly in focusing on giving practical experiences to the students: "It's not sufficient merely to tell students that they are capable of working with technology. They need confidence in their abilities to pursue a technological career and that can only be acquired through hands-on experimentation."
By the end of the course students will have built a working radio, something which gives them a tremendous boost of confidence. "We've had very good reactions from the students," says Laffen. "The figures for students taking electronic engineering has risen by five per cent since last year."
Everyone is agreed that Transition Year is crucial for fostering an awareness in female students of the many job opportunities in hi-tech industries. The choices they make here will determine their eventual career path.
Darina Eades, a former New Opportunities for Women (NOW) project co-ordinator in Carlow RTC, believes that misconceptions about what an engineer does, and the traditional view that it is a man's job, conspire to keep many women out of the profession. "Girls can be as effective as boys in a technical environment," says Eades, "and don't just take my word for it. Electronic and computer companies are actively seeking to employ females because of their reputation for being conscientious, diligent workers."
Statistics suggest a great European shortage of electronic technicians despite the major boom in the industry. In this climate, she believes, female students should be encouraged to take subjects such as higher-level maths, physics and chemistry for the Leaving Cert.
When girls take these subjects they do at least as well as boys - and, Brendan Laffen adds, in some cases girls outperform boys. "Even if the girls do decide against a career in technology at least they are doing so from a position of knowledge and not of ignorance."
