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Read up on the roles offered within the sector.

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Are you logical, analytical and good at solving problems? Are you interested in how computers and software work? If you think you'd like to write the computer programmes that control aircraft systems, make sure that financial data is secure or design and install big computer networks, then this could be the industry for you.

Around 100,000 people are employed in technology roles, across all sectors, in Scotland. 40% of those are employed in technology businesses, with the remaining 60% in other sectors such as finance, engineering, health and creative industries. This represents 4% of Scottish workforce.

An important aspect of the information and communication technology industry is the high rate of change. While the actual power of computers grows every year, new applications are constantly being developed.

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An important aspect of the information and communication technology industry is the high rate of change. While the actual power of computers grows every year, new applications are constantly being developed.

What areas can I work in?

There are many different sectors in the computing and ICT industry and you would usually specialise in a particular area. These include computer programming and software engineering, IT support, IT security, systems analysis and design, networks, database administration and web and multimedia.

Some areas of this industry are related to engineering, such as electrical and electronics work.

What kind of companies can I work for?

Almost all companies and industries use computing and information technology, so the range of firms that you could work for is vast. They could include:

large technology companies

finance and commerce companies

local government and the Civil Service

the National Health Service (NHS)

games development companies

web design and development agencies

aerospace companies

manufacturing and engineering firms

education.

What's the job market like?

The Scottish Tech Sector continues to grow and will become second fastest in Scotland between now and 2029, with only childcare services faster. The number of people needed to support the tech industry has increased, with 13,000 jobs available each year, this has seen a rise of more than 200 a year.

In the cyber security sector, the number of cyber security firms increased by 44% growing from 846 companies in 2017 to over 1,200 by the end of 2019. This sector now employs approximately 43,000 people across the UK, up 37% from 2017.

According to a report from the Digital Technologies Skills Group, the most in demand language skills are .NET, Java and SQL with New Technology skills such as cyber security, information security, data analytics and artificial intelligence being considered important.

The number of women in the industry increased by 5%, increasing the number of female digital technology professionals in Scotland to 23%. This must change if the industry is to stay competitive. Tech Future Girls, Stemettes and Next Tech Girls are just some of the initiatives encouraging more young women to consider a career in the industry.

Digital asset and currency provider GCEX (GC Exchange Limited) are creating 26 real living wage jobs in Glasgow as part of their plans to expand into Scotland.

Facts and figures

According to Digital Scotland's 2019 report there are around 62,500 people in Tech Businesses across Scotland.

The average salary for technology jobs in Scotland is £36,500, almost 26% higher than the average of £29,200.

From the academic year 2016/17, 75.7% of IT graduates were in employment six months after graduating.

Want to find out more?

If you are considering a career in IT, take a look at Tech Future Careers ( www.tpdegrees.com/careers) and the Screen Skills website ( www.screenskills.com), which has information on job roles in the computer games sector.

Sources

Scotland's Digital Technologies: Summary Report, Digital Technologies Skills Group (2019)

UK booming cyber security sector. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (January 2020)

What do graduates do? Prospects in association with HECSU and AGCAS (2018/19) (Latest data available)

Scottish Enterprise Media Centre (March 2020)

Skills Development Scotland (October 2019)

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Are you logical, analytical and good at solving problems? Are you interested in how computers and software work? If you think you'd like to write the computer programmes that control aircraft systems, make sure that financial data is secure or design and install big computer networks, then this could be the industry for you.

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Cambridge GCSE Computing Online - supporting the GCSE in Computing Science from OCR

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Cambridge GCSE Computing Online - the home of Computer Science teaching and assessment with OCR and Cambridge University Press

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Thomas in Year 7 says “I love how the lessons allow me to explore different aspects of computing, especially algorithms and programming.”

Sarah in Y8 says “lessons are interesting and fun, there are so many good things to do. I love Scratch and being able to make my own games and animations.”

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The link below is to the Year 5 and Year 6 curriculum - if you sign up to the website and see what you can and can't do on this course, that will be a great start to starting off in KS3 in September

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Learn A Levels, GCSE, KS3 & KS2 2x Faster with Seneca

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Learn A Levels, GCSE, KS3 & KS2 2x Faster with Seneca

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Our Computing curriculum is designed to allow pupils to gain the knowledge and understanding required to enter the next key stage, future education route or career path. The Computing department inspires outside reading on subject topics such as: emerging technologies including AI, cyber security, and social impacts of technologies.  Our aim is to allow different types of learners to engage in a creative and fun way, which will give them the confidence to inspire and help others when using a computer.

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Go to https://www.bitmoji.com/ or use the Bitmoji app on your phone. Make a bitmoji of yourself that you can share with your form tutor when you start at CTK.  Make sure it looks like you and is doing an activity that you are good at - Mr Alexander's is shown below! Then make a second one that you could have as your profile icon once you get your Google account in September.

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The Student Room and The Uni Guide are trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd.

Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. 806 8067 22 Registered Office: Imperial House, 2nd Floor, 40-42 Queens Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 3XB

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The UK's biggest student community. Boost your grades, learn with free study tools, find your perfect uni place & get answers to any question on the forums.

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A lot of the Computing curriculum involves coding - this is a good way to get some practice in before you start! Focus on Python as this is what we use most!

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Learn the technical skills to get the job you want. Join over 50 million people choosing Codecademy to start a new career (or advance in their current one).

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The world's largest Web Developer's site!

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W3Schools offers free online tutorials, references and exercises in all the major languages of the web. Covering popular subjects like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, SQL, Java, and many, many more.

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University: LJMU
Studied: Psychology
Favourites:
Computing topic: Binary
Film: Shawshank Redemption
Sport: Football (Everton)
Food: Curry
Book: Wind Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami)

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Have a look at the list of topics on this website to start to familiarise yourself with some of the work you will be doing next year!

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KS3 Computer Science learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers organised by topic.

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There's something for everyone in these links! From quizzes to online tutorials across a range of topics, you''ll never find yourself wanting for more!

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Lots of different activities to do using Scratch online. Click the link below to access the website and also for some instructions.

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Explore a variety of topics and quizzes!

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The link below is for the OCR Computer Science at GCSE Level

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Learn A Levels, GCSE, KS3 & KS2 2x Faster with Seneca

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Learn A Levels, GCSE, KS3 & KS2 2x Faster with Seneca

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University: Edge Hill
Studied: Mathematics
Favourites:
Computing topic: Data Science
Film: Grease
Sport: Football
Food: Chinese
Book: In Her Name