Member Article

Leading businesses across the UK show their support for a good iDEA

Barclays, Microsoft, Telefonica (O2), Mozilla, KPMG, Salesforce.com, Silicon Valley Bank and University of Huddersfield are the first UK based organisations to officially pledge their support to iDEA.

Eight of the biggest names from the world of tech, business, education and finance are backing a new scheme which aims to help more than one million young people to develop their digital skills and business ideas over the next five years.

Barclays, Microsoft, Telefonica (O2), Mozilla, KPMG, Salesforce.com, Silicon Valley Bank and University of Huddersfield have given their support to iDEA – the inspiring Digital Enterprise Award, which has been devised by HRH The Duke of York and Nominet Trust – the UK’s only dedicated tech for good funder.

Recognising the importance of the scheme, these businesses have pledged funding, in addition to the provision of in-kind support such as office space, mentorship, software, access to investor communities, work experience and internships.

Annika Small, CEO of Nominet Trust, said: “Today’s announcement demonstrates a significant commitment from businesses across the UK to equipping young people with the entrepreneurial, digital and employability skills they need to succeed. Through the iDEA programme we will be working hard to support the UK economy with a digitally literate, confident and capable workforce.”

Barclays is one of the first corporate partners to lend its support to iDEA. It is pledging mentors and judges from its Digital Eagles programme, as part of an initiative to support and encourage people building their confidence in digital literacy. The bank is helping to deliver iDEA workshops to young people across the UK, alongside digital skills training company, Free:Formers.

Steven Roberts, Strategic Transformation Director at Barclays and Pioneer of the Digital Eagles, said: “We want to help people of all ages across the UK to improve their technology capabilities and build their skills and confidence to embrace the new digital revolution. That is why pledging our support with iDEA is so important, so that together with Free:Formers and their valuable workshops we can play a role in helping young people learn valuable transferable skills for the future.”

iDEA has been created to help 14-25-year-olds develop their digital, enterprise and entrepreneurial skills, boost the confidence of young people and increase their employability status.

Through its partnership with the iDEA programme, Microsoft is providing funding, mentorship and workspace through its accelerator programme, Microsoft Ventures Accelerator, London. It is also creating a dedicated open skills badge for the iDEA initiative.

Anand Krishnan, General Manager of Developer Experience at Microsoft UK said: “Equipping young people with digital skills to prepare them for the world of work is more important now than ever before. Increasingly, jobs require deep technical knowledge and computing skills, and we know the UK is not producing enough graduates with the right skills to fill these jobs. As one of the biggest technology companies in the UK, Microsoft has a responsibility to help make sure we are encouraging and inspiring more young people to consider a career in technology and computing. We hope that our involvement in the iDEA programme will make this goal a reality.”

Young people taking part in the iDEA award scheme will have their skills and achievements recognised through open badges - a new global standard to recognise skills and achievements across the web. In addition to the three core iDEA badges, many of the new partners will sponsor their own open badge and offer participants in the programme the chance to carry out online tasks in order to earn one.

Global telecoms giant, Telefonica UK (O2) has committed to endorsing one of the programme’s open skills badges. In addition, it will provide funding and further support for the winning start-ups, including access to the Think Big digital hub in Hoxton.

Tracey Herald, Head of Community, Telefonica UK (O2), said: “At O2, we believe that the possibilities of technology should be open to everyone. We’re delighted to support the iDEA Award which gives young people the opportunity to practice the principles of entrepreneurship and use digital technology to bring their ideas to life. We hope many of the young people who participate in the iDEA programme will continue to develop their ideas with funding and support from O2 Think Big.”

The award is currently being piloted with hundreds of young people from across the country in preparation for a full national rollout in October 2014. Over the next five years, iDEA aims to support one million young people across the UK to improve their digital skills, develop digital business concepts and start up their own business ventures.

Isabel Kelly, Senior Director, International, Salesforce.com Foundation, added: “Through our 1-1-1 model of integrated corporate philanthropy, the Salesforce.com Foundation offers our technology, financial resources and time to help non-profits achieve their missions. We are proud to support the iDEA programme to provide tomorrow’s generation with the tools to succeed.”

Today’s announcement comes as the pilot enters its final stage. On Tuesday, the 15 most promising teams entered the third and final stage of the award pilot programme. Each team will receive up to £5,000 in grants, as well as mentor support to develop their concept and earn their Live Badge. Up to three finalists will be selected in October to receive the overall 2014 iDEA Award and a grant worth up to £15,000.

To find out more about iDEA, please go to: www.onemillionyoungideas.org.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lindsay Cleland .