Year 10 girls from schools across South Wales have taken part in an event to encourage them to look at careers in cyber.

The University of South Wales (USW) hosted the event at its Newport Campus as part of its work leading on the CyberFirst project in Wales. CyberFirst is run by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of the Government-run GCHQ, and was created to help young people explore their passion for tech by introducing them to the fast-paced world of cyber security.

The schools attending were either schools who have a CyberFirst award, or feeder schools of Welsh colleges with the CyberFirst award, namely Cardiff High School, Corpus Christi, and St John's College, from Cardiff; Rougemont school from Newport, and Bishop Hedley High School from Merthyr Tydfil.

These schools have access to a calendar of CyberFirst events aimed to increase the size and diversity of their Computing cohorts as part of their CyberFirst status, awarded by the NCSC through the CyberFirst project in Wales. All schools and colleges in Wales are encouraged to apply for this award.

Holly Marie-Lidbury, who is Cyber First Project Lead at USW, said:

“The aim of this event was to give the girls a taster of what the cyber sector has to offer and encourage them to stay on the computing pathway into higher and further education.

“We often see a drop off in interest in the subject from girls after GCSE, often because they are the only female, or in a minority in the class, and then they can become disengaged.

“The event was all about showing these girls that there is a community of other girls with similar interests and experiences, and that they do not have to feel alone as they pursue this path.”

The speakers at event included Clare Johnson, cyber capability consultant at Itsus Consulting in Cardiff, and founder of Women in Cyber Wales, who highlighted how diversity of thought is crucial to cyber, while those attending were also told about the ‘Young Women in Cyber Wales' group for girls aged 16-25, which is a network for young women operating in the sector.

Representatives of CyberFirst Industry partners – Bridewell Consulting, PWC and Airbus – also attended to talk about how they got into cyber and how they find it complements their other skills and interests, while cyber security academics and other experts were on hand to give advice on ways to break into the industry.

“The most important part of the day was bringing lots of girls together for this event, so, even if they are the minority in their own classroom, they will meet other girls across South Wales who are having the same experience,” Holly added.

“We were also able to show them how computing and cyber links with their other skills and interests, and how they don't need to make a choice between computing and other pathways – they can study these things together, enhancing both.

“We'd like to thank all the organisations that supported the event and for providing amazing role models for the girls who attended.”