Member Article

Future tech stars give IT greater App-eal

Four teenage coders from North Tyneside have developed an app designed to encourage more young people into the digital sector that currently provides 1.56m jobs to the UK market.

The software development apprentices from Wolf Group have taken inspiration from the bestselling iOS and Android game, Temple Run, to develop an app of their own.

Based at the IT consultancy’s North Shields office, apprentices Adam Day, Daniel Mills, Rowan Baxter and Thomas Holstead have developed a game they hope will act as an engagement tool for teenagers that they come into contact with through ongoing recruitment projects in local schools and colleges.

Adam who began his software development apprenticeship with Wolf Group last autumn, said: “The app is designed to give young people a basic understanding of programming over a stimulating and familiar platform while offering them a taster of the type of work they could undertake as an apprentice.”

The four teenage coders plan to showcase their app during National Apprenticeship Week at North Tyneside Council’s annual ‘Get Up & Go’ event. The event will bring together hundreds of the region’s businesses and young people to promote local apprenticeship and employment opportunities.

Organiser for the event, North Tyneside Council’s Tim Downing, said: “An ideal way for young people to learn about the skills needed by employers is from other young people.

“This example of teenagers showing how they have used their programming skills to create an app is a great way for other young people to find out about the wide ranging activities that apprentices get to do during their training. I look forward to seeing this myself at our ‘Get Up & Go’ apprenticeship fair.”

National Apprenticeship Week takes place from March 14 - 18 and celebrates the positive impact apprenticeships have on individuals, businesses and the wider community.

Managing Director of Wolf Group, Marc Fowler, said: “The tech industry is among the fastest growing in the North East and thanks to apprenticeships we boast some of the best IT talent in the UK.

“We’re fortunate to be in the position where we can offer rewarding careers in software and hope that by encouraging a greater diversity of young developers into the industry we can further cement the region as a key player in the UK’s digital economy.”

Wolf Group’s apprenticeship programme forms part of the Wolf Academy, a wider IT training initiative setup to develop a pool of talent for the business while also helping to tackle the region’s IT skills shortage.

In the last 12-months Wolf Group, who count GE Oil and Gas, G4S and TRW as clients, have recruited five software development apprentices and an additional 13 members of staff across both technical and commercial arms of the business.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Wolf Group .