Greater Manchester has partnered with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to develop a unique new qualification to help young people acquire essential digital skills and prepare them for a career in the technology sector.
The Greater Manchester Business Board and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) have teamed up with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to design a first-of-its-kind Applied Computing qualification, which will be made available to secondary school pupils through the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate – known as the MBacc.
The MBacc is Greater Manchester’s plan to transform technical education across the city-region. Co-designed by education leaders, employers and businesses, the MBacc will provide young people with a clear pathway from school to high-quality jobs in Greater Manchester’s growing economy.
The Applied Computing qualification will offer pupils on the MBacc route a tailored, accessible learning experience, setting them up with digital skills for the workplace. Designed to be suitable for independent study, the qualification will align to the knowledge and skills appropriate to each stage of the MBacc as young people progress – from providing fundamental digital skills, all the way through to preparing for a career in the digital and tech sector.
Raspberry Pi is known for making low-cost, credit-card sized computers that can help young people develop their coding skills. The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a charity with the mission to enable young people to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “The support and interest we have received since launching the MBacc shows that industry partners share our view that the technical education system in this country needs to be rewired. The Raspberry Pi Foundation does fantastic work teaching young people about computing and how to create using digital technologies, and we look forward to working with them to drive forward our technical education ambitions. This qualification offers knowledge and skills that have genuine application in the workplace.
“Our digital and technology sector is one of Greater Manchester’s biggest strengths and is rapidly growing. To sustain that growth, we need to ensure there is a clear pathway to a career in the sector for any young person who has that ambition.”
