Giant O2 looks to persuade
region’s pupils to Think Big

Telecoms giant O2 chose Yorkshire for a new pilot scheme to inspire teenagers to follow technology pioneers Steve Jobs and Sir Tim Berners-Lee and choose careers in the industry.

The Spanish-owned firm held the day-long event at its customer contact centre in Leeds for 40 schoolchildren to apply their digital skills to real-life situations.

The 14- to 16-year-olds solved problems, created websites, designed digital products and came up with new business ideas.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Following the success of the pilot, O2 plans to roll out the Think Big School initiative across the UK.

Ann Pickering, HR director, said: “We’re extremely excited to have piloted the first of our Think Big Schools.

“We’ve started in Leeds, and following that success it is our ambition to take the programme nationwide.

“By focusing on delivering the skills that young people need to impress a potential employer and exposing them to the right technology, we hope to inspire the next generation of technology talents while also giving them practical tools as they embark on the journey into work.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She added: “As a business with 25 percent of our workforce under 25 years of age, we know better than most how important fostering young people’s digital skills is for future growth.

“We believe that there is a fundamental irony in the UK today that at a time when growth depends on the digital economy, we’re not fully utilising the young people who have digital skills in abundance. Some of these students could be our next apprentices.”

Pupils from Wetherby High School took part in the event.

Paul Stevens, a teacher, said: “It was a great day that fully engaged the students in unlocking their creative potential. So many new digital skills were learnt and you could see the students visibly growing in confidence.”

O2 has 2,700 staff in Leeds. It is part of Telefónica Europe plc.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Last week, the group reported a 34.4 per cent fall in net profit for the first half of the year, to 2.1 billion euros, in line with analysts’ forecasts.

Telefónica scrapped its dividend and share buy-back programme for 2012 and halved its shareholder payout for 2013 to confront a 57-billion-euro debt pile and a deepening economic crisis in its home market.

Last month, O2 and Vodafone announced a UK joint venture to pool their infrastructure to improve network coverage.

Related topics: