After announcing its commitment to support the education of local students, Roq, one of the UK’s leading Quality Engineering consultancies, has launched an initiative to combat the issue of the digital divide in schools, bridging the gap to help students gain educational achievements in situations where resources aren’t always accessible.
Donating laptops to Wellfield Academy and Our Lady & Saint John Catholic College, Roq recognises the high demand for digital resources, stepping in where families are facing challenges when it comes to purchasing new digital devices to aid in study.
The laptops donated by Roq are fully refurbished and equipped with the latest technology and set up ready for the students to use.
“We are passionate about improving the lives of children, enabling them with opportunities for a future career in technology and have always prioritised education and innovation. We know there are many students who don’t have access to the resources they need to help them thrive at school, and we’re thrilled to be able to help support the local community in such a meaningful way,” said Shaheen Gul, Roq’s Academy Recruitment Specialist.
“We hope that these laptops will provide students with the resources they require to keep up with their studies, both in and out of the classroom, and continue to achieve great things.”
Andrew Larkin, Our Lady & Saint John Catholic College Careers Lead, said, “Around 50% of our pupils don’t have computer facilities at home and this can significantly affect their ability to do good, structured work at home, such as research assignments.”
Mr West, House Progress Leader at Wellfield Academy, said, “The attainment gap felt by disadvantaged students is a problem across the UK. We have approximately 100 pupils who don’t currently have access to resources that allow them to continue their studies effectively at home and open doors for their chosen career paths.
“We’re very grateful to Roq for this donation. Our students will be able to enhance what they’ve learned during lesson time and do things like apply for work experience opportunities, which can add to their CV and increase their future employability prospects.”
Along with donating digital resources, Roq also actively supports a variety of skills initiatives to fuel the growing digital economy.
Shaheen Gul went on to say, “Amongst other initiatives mainly in the UK, but also some in developing countries overseas, we support mock interviews, arrange school visits to our offices, attend careers fairs and guest lectures around the UK, host ‘Defectives’ challenges, carry out CPDs for teachers and actively promote careers in Quality Engineering across all ages and genders. The technology community needs support to thrive. We take pride in campaigning to raise awareness of the growing digital skills gap – bringing the root causes to the fore.”
