2019 has been a highly productive year for CGI in Scotland with social responsibility and education at the forefront

Scotland’s tech industry is gathering momentum  and, according to Skills Development Scotland, in the next decade it will be the second-fastest 
growing sector.

Staying ahead of the curve is vital as is making sure that the country has the skills to meet the demands of an industry that could mean considerable economic growth.

This year, CGI has been at the centre of projects that will look at not only the future IT skills of the Scottish workforce, but addressing the question of diversity in IT and how companies such as CGI interact with and contribute to their communities.

2019 has also seen the appointment of a female head of CGI in Scotland, Lindsay McGranaghan, who is proud of how well the company’s outreach projects are performing.

The Herald:

The new head of CGI in Scotland, Lindsay McGranaghan, believes strongly in the company giving  back to local communities

 

As part of a seven-year project to provide a wide range of IT services across Glasgow City Council, including library services, health and social care provisions, software development training for jobseekers, connectivity, and tackling the digital divide by equipping social enterprise, CGI ran a pilot project to empower learning at St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. 

Here, iPads were used by S2 and S3 pupils and their teachers as part of a much bigger connected learning strategy, using technology as a tool to modernise the classroom experience. The city-wide project will provide 52,000 iPads for Glasgow schools, 4900 for teachers and 47,100 for pupils.  Lindsay McGranaghan says she is “genuinely proud of this, because it is Scottish children in Glasgow, just down the road from me, hopefully opening a door to a learning experience different to what they had previously. 

“We did a video for all in St Thomas Aquinas, with the children and teachers talking about what it has meant to them. Seeing this feedback made me realise the difference we are making to the young people of Glasgow, so much so that it’s the first thing I’ve taken home from work to show my parents!”

At CGI’s Innovation Centre, members have been helping to expand the horizons of girls and young women at a STEM camp as part of a major Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. This de-mystified tech for the girls and showed that they already had a relationship with technology that could be built upon and lead to an inspiring career.

Some of the members volunteering at the STEM camps were doing so through CGI’s commitment to social responsibility.

This, in combination with its “metro model”, which aims to have all employees living within one hour of the office, roots CGI firmly in its communities, even though it is a global organisation. All CGI members are given a day off each year to work on volunteering projects. “We have found that they really enjoy giving back to Scotland, whether it is in the cities or elsewhere and it’s great to be working with our clients on it,” adds Lindsay.

CGI takes its lead from the members and their particular interests and strengths.

“We’re implementing a number of camps across schools in Scotland, which we will continue to do over the next year, which is obviously a strength, but we are also going down to the Borders to plant 5500 trees – a tree for every member – with the aim of off-setting our UK flights for the year.

“Because people live in the community and work in the community they genuinely want to give back. It’s a satisfying thing to do and we can support them in that.”