PwC inspires next generation of tech geniuses

PwC is inspiring the next generation of tech geniuses with a programme providing a digital education to school children.

The Hive Hackers programme is one of the training initiatives from PwC supporting the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and its legacy and aims to upskill the younger generation and empower local communities

The firm took over the classroom at two local schools, Grove Primary school in Handsworth and Clifton Primary school in Balsall Heath, for a three-day workshop as part of the programme.

Over 200 children aged eight and nine took part in sessions which included an introduction to coding, how to build algorithms and how to debug software.

Hive Hackers was originally developed by PwC Northern Ireland and has reached over 10,000 students to date.

This is the first time the firm has brought the programme to the Midlands, with full content now being available to all the schools in the region through the Just2Easy platform.

During the three-day workshop, PwC was joined by representatives from Entrust, an education and skills support services business, that supported the introduction of Hive Hackers to the Birmingham schools.

Speaking about the Hive Hackers workshop, Pamela Matty, head teacher at Grove School, said: “In an increasingly tech-focused world, it is so important to provide children with digital education, so they develop skills for the future and learn about the importance of online safety.

“The Hive Hackers sessions were really engaging, and it was great to see the children being inspired and developing their understanding of technology. I would strongly recommend these sessions to other local schools, it was a really valuable three days for both the children and the teachers. ”

Matthew Hammond, PwC UK Midlands region leader & Birmingham senior partner, said: “Hive Hackers programme was developed in 2016 and successfully implemented in Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands with a goal of developing the digital skills of young people and encouraging them to pursue careers in STEM related fields.

“The vision is to inspire the children of today with the technology of tomorrow. Through our Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games sponsorship, we 've committed to supporting the Games legacy by hosting training initiatives for young people, so we thought what a perfect time to bring Hive Hackers to Birmingham. ”

Find out more about the Hive Hackers programme.

Pictured: Year 5 at Grove School celebrating the Hive Hackers worshop