FAQs

TechFirst Women’s Programme is designed to help 300 women across the UK move into paid jobs in six high-growth technology sectors, including AI, cyber security, engineering biology, quantum technologies, semiconductors and advanced communications. It’s part of the government’s broader TechFirst campaign – a £187m investment in national skills.

The programme supports women at different stages of their careers, including those looking to transition into technology, return to work after a career break or progress within the sector. Through skills development, mentoring, career support and employer matching, participants gain access to real employment opportunities and ongoing support to help them succeed.

For employers, TechFirst Women’s Programme creates access to skilled women with transferable experience, widening talent pipelines and helping address skills shortages in strategically important technology sectors.

TechFirst Women’s Programme focuses on six high growth technology sectors:

• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Cyber security
• Engineering biology
• Quantum technologies
• Semiconductors
• Advanced communications

Women remain significantly underrepresented in technology, accounting for around https://www.theglobalcity.uk/PositiveWebsite/media/Research-reports/Untapped-Digital-Talent-the-3bn-Opportunity-Full.pdf; 20% in AI and 16% in cyber security. At the same time, employers across the sector are facing challenges finding people with the skills they need.

TechFirst Women’s Programme aims to tackle both sides of this challenge: helping more women access technology careers, while supporting employers to find people with the skills, experience and different perspectives they need to grow.

This, in turn, will help drive a more productive, innovative and competitive UK economy, by supporting technology businesses with high-growth potential.

Technology is already a major part of the UK economy. In 2024, the UK Digital and Technologies sector contributed https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/digital-and-technologies-sector-statistics-volume-1-economic-statistics/digital-and-technologies-sector-economic-statistics – around 6% of the UK's overall GVA – and employed 1.33 million people.

As the sector continues to grow and new technologies create opportunities for businesses, having the people and skills to take those opportunities forward is essential.

TechFirst Women’s Programme helps address this in three ways: by helping more women access technology careers, facilitating employers to reach a wider pool of skilled people and recognise transferable skills and supporting women to build longer-term careers in the sector. This is crucial for the effective adoption of technology, which is the priority growth enabler for the UK.

A stronger and more diverse technology workforce will help businesses drive innovation, supporting wider economic growth and productivity.

TechFirst Women’s Programme is funded by the UK Government, led by innovation and growth company Plexal and delivered through a consortium of specialist organisations working across candidate recruitment, training, employer engagement, regional and women-based networks.

The core delivery partners are:

• Plexal – programme lead
• WeAreTheCity – engagement with women, community outreach and events
• CAPSLOCK – technical training and career transition support
• Sanderson – candidate recruitment, assessment and role matching
• Beta Technology – employer engagement and the vacancy pipeline

Sector-specific training partners are:

• Semi-conductors – Cardiff University
• Cyber security – Royal Holloway, University of London and Manchester Metropolitan University
• AI – Barnsley College
• Engineering Biology – University of Nottingham
• Quantum – Lancaster University
• Advanced Communications – University of Bristol

Regional delivery partners are:

• TECH SY
• CyNam
• Northern Reach / Cybec
• CWConnected
• Women in Tech North East
• Manchester Metropolitan University Centre for Enterprise

The programme launched on Tuesday 13th October (Ada Lovelace Day), during Women in Tech Week 2026, and has a target of helping 300 women move into paid technology roles by the end of March 2027. Once a role has been created and a candidate recruited, both the employer and employee will continue to receive support from programme partners for a six-month period.

After applying and completing an eligibility and skills/career assessment, participants can receive a tailored programme of skills development, mentoring, community support and career support.

You'll then be matched with relevant live vacancies and supported through the recruitment process. Successful candidates will move into paid jobs lasting at least six months, with continued technical training and in-work support once they start.

Women who meet the criteria are eligible for the programme.

Criteria: What is your sex at birth?

TechFirst Women’s Programme is designed to address the under-representation of women in technology.

Under the Equality Act 2010, sex is a protected characteristic and organisations may take proportionate positive action to address disadvantage or under-representation.

Following the UK Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, references to women and sex in the Equality Act are based on biological sex.

We therefore ask for your sex at birth so that we can assess eligibility for the programme consistently and monitor delivery appropriately.

This question is separate from gender identity. The information you provide during your application will be handled confidentially and used only for legitimate programme administration, eligibility, monitoring and reporting purposes, in accordance with our privacy notice.

Criteria: Do you have the right to work in the UK?

To qualify for the programme, women must have lived in the UK for the last three consecutive years and have the right to work here.

Participants can be employed, self-employed, unemployed or returning after a career break.

They may also be at different stages of their working lives, including people starting their careers, considering a career change, or looking to progress in technology.

The programme is UK-wide, with a target of 80% of participants being mid-career and 20% at an early career stage.

TechFirst Women's Programme has specific eligibility requirements set by the programme funder. Applicants who do not meet those eligibility requirements are encouraged to submit an enquiry via this form. Support Form

Plexal and partners recognise that barriers to entering, returning to and progressing within technology careers are experienced by a range of individuals and communities, and that different groups may face different challenges in accessing skills development, employment opportunities and professional networks.

Where possible, we will seek to connect individuals who are not eligible for TechFirst Women's Programme with alternative support, learning opportunities, community activity and future initiatives. We are also exploring opportunities to develop additional programmes and partnerships that can support a broader range of underrepresented and marginalised groups within the technology sector.

No. You don't need to have a traditional technology background to take part.

Technology employers need people with a wide range of skills, including communication, problem-solving, project management, commercial awareness, research, leadership and other transferable skills.

TechFirst Women’s Programme is designed to help women understand, and employers to recognise, how the skills and experience that women already have could translate into technology roles, while giving them opportunities to develop new skills where needed.

The exact roles available will depend on the live vacancies offered by participating employers but will cover a host of technical and non-technical roles, potentially spanning areas such as marketing, research, product development, project management, operations and leadership in sectors including AI and cyber security, semi-conductors, engineering biology, quantum technologies and advanced connectivity.

Yes. TechFirst Women’s Programme is designed for women at different stages of their careers, including women already working in technology who are looking to develop their skills or progress their careers.

Yes. TechFirst Women’s Programme can support eligible women who are looking to move into a qualifying technology role within the organisation they already work for, as well as women moving to a new employer.

The new role must meet the programme criteria and represent a genuine move or progression into a role aligned to one of the programme’s six technology areas. The programme can support the woman and her employer with relevant skills development and transition into the new role.

Yes. Apprenticeships can be eligible where they provide a genuine paid employment opportunity and meet the wider TechFirst Women’s Programme criteria.

The apprenticeship role should be aligned to one of the programme’s six frontier technology areas and provide meaningful skills development and progression. As with other roles supported through the programme, it will need to meet the programme’s requirements for the duration and working hours of the employment opportunity.

Please apply using this link: https://www.techfirstwomen.com/

No. Being accepted onto the TechFirst Women’s Programme does not guarantee an individual a job. The programme will provide support to develop skills, prepare for recruitment and connect participants with relevant live vacancies.

Jobs are offered by participating employers and candidates will still need to go through the relevant recruitment and selection process. The programme's overall target is to support 300 women to move into paid technology jobs by March 2027.

Yes. The programme is designed to support women into paid technology jobs lasting at least six months, for a minimum of 25 hours a week. There’s no prescribed minimum salary, but employers are expected to provide meaningful roles with a market-rate salary appropriate to the role and sector, as well as managing onboarding and integration into the workplace and providing day-to-day management and supervision.

The training and support will be provided free of charge by programme partners. The programme and time commitment will vary, depending on an individual’s circumstances and need, as well as the specific role that they’re being matched to.

It’s expected to include a combination of workplace readiness support, career coaching and guidance/mentoring from professionals and role models, technical and role-specific training, confidence-building and leadership development.

Support doesn't stop when you start work. Participants will continue to receive technical training and in-work support, including regular check-ins, peer networking opportunities, as well as technical upskilling and professional development, helping them settle into their roles, develop skills and build longer-term careers in technology. Following six months of successful employment, the participant will graduate the programme and enter our alumni community.

TechFirst Women’s Programme is not ‘just another training programme’. It’s so much more.

It’s designed to help women move from skills development into real paid jobs. Training is part of the offer, but this is combined with mentoring, employer matching, recruitment support, paid employment and ongoing in-work support.

We work with employers to remove barriers to recruitment, progression and retention, creating more inclusive workplaces where women can thrive. By changing how organisations attract and support talent, we're helping drive long-term behavioural change across the technology sector.

Contact us – techfirstwomen@plexal.com

TechFirst Women’s Programme helps employers access a wider pool of skilled women, including candidates with transferable skills and experience who may be overlooked by conventional recruitment approaches.

It provides practical support throughout the recruitment process — from identifying suitable roles and finding and matching candidates to supporting employers with recruitment and inclusive hiring. Employers can also benefit from training and ongoing support to help new employees succeed in their roles.

The programme has a particular focus on SMEs, where finding the right people can take significant time and resources, and access to specialist skills can be a challenge. By helping businesses access the people they need, the programme contributes to a stronger and more productive UK technology workforce.

Employers need to operate within one of the six target sectors identified for support from the TechFirst Women’s Programme. Employers of different sizes and across sectors can take part, with a particular focus on SMEs. The programme aims for 80% of roles to be with SMEs and 20% with larger employers.

Every participating employer will be expected to provide genuine, paid opportunities aligned to the programme's objectives and technology sectors. Roles must be a minimum of six months and at least 25-hours per week but can be in-person, hybrid or remote. Employers must offer a supportive environment for participants, meaningful skills development and potential for progression, although there is no requirement to guarantee permanent employment after the initial contract term.

Vacancies will be validated by programme partners against factors including role purpose, skills requirements, supervision, pay, duration, inclusivity and progression potential, before being advertised within the programme pipeline.

With the support of programme partners, employers will retain responsibility for interviewing matched job role candidates, assessing their suitability for specific vacancies, making formal job offers and agreeing the employment terms and conditions, in line with the programme criteria.

The programme will use a structured matching process that considers the skills, experience and career aspirations of each candidate against the employer requirements and role specifications. Candidates will also be assessed on pathway suitability, training completed, location preferences and progression opportunities.

Once suitable matches are identified, the programme team will facilitate introductions and support both candidates and employers through the recruitment and onboarding process.

There is no programme or recruitment fee for employers. Employers remain responsible for salary or wages and normal employment costs. The programme has been specifically designed to reduce hiring risk, particularly for SMEs, by combining candidate assessment, role-aligned training, structured matching and ongoing support before and during recruitment.

There is no prescribed minimum salary, but employers are expected to provide meaningful roles with a market-rate salary appropriate to the role and sector, as well as managing onboarding and integration into the workplace and providing day-to-day management and supervision.

Once a candidate from the programme has started work, employers will receive continued support throughout the duration of their initial employment, including ongoing account management and employer check-ins. Support will extend to advice on retention, progression and participant success from across the wider programme network.

Yes. Statistics show that 28% of vacancies in financial and professional services and technology were hard to fill in 2024. 35% of organisations surveyed struggle to fill AI roles, while 28% of organisations said skills gaps were affecting their ability to achieve their business goals in AI. In terms of Cyber Security, over half (57%) of businesses had a basic technical skills gap, an increase from last year (49%).

Contact us – techfirstwomen@plexal.com