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Why do we act like there’s only one way into tech?
National Careers Week is a chance to celebrate opportunity and be honest about what it takes to access it. So, here’s a question: why do we still talk about ‘getting into tech’ as if there’s only one route and only one ‘type’ of person who belongs there?
Tech isn’t a single industry anymore: it’s a layer running through the whole economy. Digital capability underpins roles across healthcare, construction, finance and public services, but pathways into those roles aren’t always easy to spot. For many learners, the problem isn’t ambition. It’s visibility and access.
Deborah Njeri Mungai’s journey shows what an alternative route can look like. A Founder and CEO of a tech services company, Deborah studied a BTEC Higher National in Digital Technologies, building practical skills and the confidence to start her business. Her story challenges the familiar “computer science to tech job” script and widens the picture of what counts as a ‘tech pathway’.
When learners struggle to see a clear route or access the support to take it, the impact is felt at both a personal and national level. The recent Lost in Transition research, by Pearson, estimates that inefficiencies in the school-to-work transition and skills mismatches cost the UK £96bn a year in earnings, including £23bn linked to delays moving from education into full-time employment. Careers education isn’t just about raising aspirations. It’s about making progress faster and fairer.
Deborah’s experience also highlights what we miss when we reduce tech to a checklist. Progress doesn’t come from a single ‘tech skill’. It comes from a blend of digital fluency and human capabilities that help people adapt, collaborate and navigate change. For Deborah, that blend included learning in cybersecurity, data and programming, alongside strengths like communicating ideas, pitching and negotiating.
But the ability to build that blend is not evenly distributed. Access and confidence still shape who benefits from tech-enabled pathways. The Pearson School Report 2025 findings show that at least 1 in 9 school and college students say a lack of technology already affects their learning. Teachers are clear about what would make the biggest difference: more classroom devices (70%) and reliable Wi-Fi (41%).
Support to use that technology well matters too. In the Pearson School Report 2025, 56% of teachers say staff in their school need digital skills training to improve students’ digital skills, and 31% of students say they would like to focus more on digital skills in lessons. These are practical barriers. Careers guidance only lands if learners have tools and teaching support to practise, build confidence, and evidence what they can do.
Deborah is one example, but she’s not alone. Across the country, learners are taking vocational and work-based routes that build job-relevant digital capabilities, problem solving and communication skills that transfer across sectors. These stories make a simple message credible: there is more than one way into tech-enabled work.
This is also why standards and recognition matter, like initiatives that celebrate skills building help raise aspiration and make excellence visible. Programmes like WorldSkills back young people to develop and demonstrate technical skills and provide role models who show what good looks like in practice.
So, the call to action isn’t simply to ‘promote tech careers’. It’s about telling a bigger story about the many ways people can get there. Let’s make pathways visible, back them with access and skills building, and bring them to life through credible standards and real stories. Schools, colleges and employers all have a role, alongside investment in devices, connectivity and staff capability, so that stories like Deborah’s become normal rather than exceptional.
About the campaign
techUK’s TechTogether campaign, taking place throughout March, is a collection of activities highlighting the UK’s technology sector pursuit to shape a more equitable future. In 2026 we are exploring: Inclusive AI, investing in diverse founders and entrepreneurs, the power of allyship and mentorship, and empowering young people.
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