Tech giants Skyscanner and FanDuel front event to boost digital workforce

Edinburgh tech giants Skyscanner and FanDuel will front an event next week to encourage more people to take up a career in digital.

More than 200 pupils from across Edinburgh will take part in Young Scot’s schools event at Dynamic Earth on Tuesday, getting the chance to try out the likes of coding.

An evening event organised by Skills Development Scotland, which will be streamed live online for the first time, will be targeted at parents, students and adults weighing up a career change.

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Skyscanner’s talent acquisition manager Kim Watson and FanDuel’s creative director and co-founder Rob Jones will feature on an interactive panel session.

The event is the latest in a series held across Scotland as part of the Discovering Digital World roadshow. Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness have already been visited with plans to take the event to Glasgow later this month.

Claire Gillespie, key sector manager for ICT and digital technology skills at Skills Development Scotland, said: “Almost every sector from energy to finance, healthcare, sport and the creative industries has technology embedded at its core.

“Edinburgh’s tech cluster is fast-growing and full of energy and we hope that these events will inspire everyone who attends or tunes in online.”

A Skills Investment Plan for Scotland’s ICT and Digital Technologies Sector was launched last year, backed by £6.6m from the Digital Scotland Business Excellence Partnership.