Former Heathrow UTC student Dilani Selvanathan has a clear vision for her future as she embarks on her software engineering degree apprenticeship at the BBC: “Once I’ve completed my degree I plan to become a Chartered Engineer with support from a bursary from the Institute of Engineering Technology. I really enjoy the practical side of Engineering, so I want to get into electronic engineering and robotics.”

Sixth Form students’ hard work and success reflected in post-school destinations

Digital technology is transforming every aspect of our lives, having an extraordinary impact on the way we live and work. We are in the midst of the information revolution, but while we’re all becoming adept at using technology – particularly mobile technology – to augment our lives, the revolution that’s taking place upstream of the consumer, among our businesses and industries, is even more important for today’s students. They will enter an employment market that is already exhibiting an urgent need for digital skills, meaning those who possess them will have an immediate advantage in an intensely competitive employment market. That’s why I believe it’s vital that we inspire our students with the ambition not simply to use digital technology, but to seize their birth right as digital natives and shape the revolution themselves by pursuing careers in the growing digital sector. The foundations for this must be laid in our classrooms.