Kids IT campaign launched

12:45 6th November 2008

A new campaign has been launched that aims to get more teenagers interested in IT, due to the plummeting numbers of students taking up the subject at university.

BigAmbition, which is being run by e-skills, the IT sector skills council, aims to show teenagers the variety of jobs on offer in the industry and illustrate what IT-related degrees could teach them.

The campaign's website has been designed to increase interest in IT using a range of interactive tools, including videos made by IT professionals working for British Airways, BT and Myspace.

Karen Price, chief executive of e-skills, believes that young people enjoy using technology.

She said: "The next generation of IT professionals has a huge role to play in terms of UK competitiveness. The sector is large and growing - we need 141,000 new IT professionals every year."

Last week, BT's vice president of strategy for the Olympics, Stuart Hill, suggested that IT will play a key role in the London 2012 Games.