Scottish youth employment minister Angela Constance will be the keynote speaker at the event at Oracle in Linlithgow, which will be attended by 120 technology industry professionals and school and university students.

Scotland Women in Technology says that while almost 90,000 16 to 24-year-olds are out of work in Scotland, the technology sector requires 40,000 new entrants over the next five years. "Unlike other industries, the technology sector continues to grow, yet school pupils and students appear to be ignoring this opportunity," it says.

The number of pupils taking computer-related courses in Scotland has dropped by 17% since 2006, although applicants for IT-related higher education courses are up by 19% over the past two years.

Ms Constance says the launch of the Government's £250,000 CareerWISE initiative "will help raise awareness of such opportunities to girls at an early age".