Altitude Foundation: Breaking down barriers for future tech talent

Altitude Foundation bringing coding to life at this year’s BUILDING BLOCKS Insights

Lighting up the room (literally) with LED coding workshops at BUILDING BLOCKS Insights, Altitude Foundation are passionate about inspiring the next generation of tech talent and showing them what is possible.

The team at Altitude Foundation see themselves as “social mobility charity with a focus on tech”. It was founded by the pioneering firm of software developers Scott Logic, but is a legally distinct, independent entity - despite sharing the same office in The Lumen building.

Altitude Foundation aims to support all young people with a passion for tech to overcome the barriers to achieve a successful career, primarily providing opportunities for young people aged 11 to 18 living in some of the most socioeconomically challenging communities.

For Altitude Foundation’s General Manager Colin Ferguson, the North East is a hotbed of tech innovation - which potentially opens up a wealth of opportunities for young people.

“We have a fantastic tech scene here in the North East,” he explains. “Businesses are desperate to grow, to offer more opportunities, to contribute yet more to the regional economy."

“But we need those young people coming through with the right skills, experiences, inclination and attitude to be able to do the jobs of the future.”

Reframing perceptions around tech careers is a huge part of the work that Altitude Foundation does. “There are a lot of people that make assumptions about what careers in tech look like, and make the assumption ‘that's not for the likes of me’ or ‘I couldn't do that’,” says Colin. “Actually, the variety of careers that are available in tech…require a really wide ranging skillset.”

“Our young people frequently do not know anyone who works in digital, are unfamiliar with the available education and careers pathways, and lack access to the devices and technology that many of us are able to take for granted. Our programme tackles this head on.”

Altitude runs a series of initiatives to engage and inspire young people, including acclaimed programmes Altitude 1600 for ages 11 to 16 and Altitude 1800 for ages 16 to 18. 

The organisation delivers a variety of skills and careers-focused enrichment activities in schools and in partnership with industry, to give young people a real-life look at what a career in tech could look like for them.