by Lisa Campbell

Shadow Tech visit

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On 12th September, nine lucky Year 10 female students from Digital Technology classes had an opportunity to meet tech professionals and to experience what working in the tech sector is like. It was a part of ShadowTech program which is organised by TechWoman.

The students visited a company called Tuatahi in Te Rapa, a fibre optic infrastructure business. The company is in charge of planning and installation of fibre networks so internet service providers such as Spark can have access and provide data connection to individual households and businesses. It was such an eye opener for us to learn what’s happening behind our internet connection and how diverse their roles are. We even visited a site where a fibre cabinet is located to see some ‘live’ actions. Just before the lunch break, the students and a panel of ten developers, engineers and analysts had a discussion on relevant school subjects and post secondary training, possible obstacles and other pathways to the tech industry. It was very informative and supportive that every student could relate to and get inspired from.

The purpose of the program is to inspire high school girls into technology and to give some insight into various tech roles. The day certainly broke down some barriers and myths about tech jobs only for boys after meeting so many females in the company. We wish more opportunities like this to be available to more female students so they can make informed decisions on education pathways and leading into tech sector roles.