London recruitment firm develop announces tech partnership with primary school

develop, contributors to the software engineering community, have partnered with Canon Barnett Primary School in Tower Hamlets to see business growth directly impact the education and prospects of local children.

Recruiter develop, which operates in London, Berlin and Miami, is introducing coding and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related topics to children and young people in their local area. Evidence from a UK survey of nearly 10,000 primary school children shows that only 17 percent aspire to a career in science – leading to talent shortages despite the overwhelming growth of the UK’s STEM industries.

The firm aims to bridge the socioeconomic and gender gaps faced by local children and help fuel future talent pipelines by donating £25 to the school for every placement made. Based on 2021/22 figures, this will amount to a total of over £20,000 going directly towards STEM education in the form of toys, learning platforms, and equipment.

Consultants have visited the pupils at Canon Barnett to talk about what makes software engineering so exciting, and what opportunities will be available to them in the future.

Speaking on the partnership, Sarah Bellerby, Head Teacher at Canon Barnett, said: “We are really thrilled to be a part of this amazing project. We feel extremely grateful that the develop team reached out to our school. This unique opportunity means that we can carefully plan our curriculum to motivate the pupils to learn about software engineering using high-quality stem toys.

“I think the vision of develop is very powerful, if the seed is planted early children will feel inspired to learn and this will hopefully direct them to explore their interests further as they move through their educational journey and future career. Our children at Canon Barnett need experiences like this, I am really excited to see where it will take us!”

Kevin Hammond, CEO at develop commented: “With STEM jobs projected to grow by 10 percent in the next five to ten years, and those in software development at an even more astonishing rate, it is imperative that we give younger generations the right tools to succeed in an increasingly digital world. Unfortunately, many educational platforms fail to give children the full scope of jobs that are available to them, to the detriment of modern industries.”