Österäng wants more girls on technical programme: 'A lot of precjudices'

For the rector, representation on all of the school's programmes is important.

– At Österänggymnasium there are about 15 to 20 per cent girls on the technical programme, and that is a bit higher than the average in the country as a whole, says Joakim Andersson, rector for the technical programme.

Österäng has long had the ambition to get more girls to choose the technical programme, just as it has been for many other upper secondary schools. Among other things the school has invited in careers officers from 1 - 9 schools in the municipality to explain what pupils can do on the programme.

– It is particularly important to get girls interested. There are not enough women on the technical side. It offers an easy way out into working life, businesses want women in their organisation, says Joakim Andersson.

At the end of February the school organised a day where girls who are interested in studying technical subjects could go and try out what the programme was like. Second-year pupils Liv Axelsson and Vanna Jönsson were there to demonstrate for the pupils who came along.

– The ones who turned up thought it was fun. I think they got a different picture of the programme, that you do a lot of practical work, says Vanna Jönsson.

– One of the things they got to do was to print out a 3D keyring, says Liv Andersson.

Vanna and Liv are unable to say why why there are not more girls who choose the technical programme, but they think it depends on preconceptions and poor information.

– In the lower classes they don't really tell you what you do on the technical programme, it's a lot more than computers says Vanna Jönsson.

– I think a lot of people associate the programme with computer nerds when they hear about it, says Liv Axelsson.

The programme has three directions to choose from after the first year. Most of the girls who choose the course have ambitions to take design to begin with. Liv did too, tat the start.

– I was all ready to choose design too, but after we tried out all the possibilities the first year, I chose to go in for technical subjects.

How would you describe the technical programme?

– A proper challenge, with lots of possibilities, says Liv Axelsson.

The technical programme is vey similar to the natural sciences one . The big difference is that biology is not included in the technical programme.

Although the programmes are very similar, there are many more female students on the natural sciences programme.

– I think it's because of a lot of preconceived ideas. A lot of people think it is extremely difficult and they don't have an aptitude for it, says Jessica Hermansson, careers advisor for the technical programme, and goes on:

– As long as you don't have the ambition to be a doctor or work in the field of biology I think that the technical programme is at least as good an option.