NICHOLE Tinnion knows what it's like to try and cut it in a traditionally male-dominated profession.

Nichole, who now works as an IT technical specialist at Asda House, was the only girl in a class of 32 during her IT apprenticeship at Shipley College in 2010.

Now the college, which wants to recruit more girls to IT, has appointed Nichole as an IT Apprentice Ambassador, and she will be on hand at the next college open day in May to talk about her seven years’ experience in the industry.

She believes more women would be attracted to IT if they could picture themselves in the role. “There's a big stigma around IT, that it's really techy and geeky, but a huge part of my role involves working with suppliers, putting service improvement plans in place and communicating issues with internal and external customers," she says. "Some of the things I am working on at the minute are brand new pieces of technology, with massive suppliers; really exciting to get your teeth into.

“When I explain what I do to people I meet, they think it’s quite cool. In this day and age, people play with tablets and mobiles all day and I get paid to do it! I'd love to inspire others to take the path that I have. I would recommend IT as a solid career path for women - there are so many opportunities and options if you're willing to work hard.”

Nichole, 22, found the earn-while-you-learn route attractive, completing both the IT Practitioners and Professionals Level 2 and 3 Apprenticeships in 16 months - no mean feat for qualifications which usually take up to three years.

She was offered a permanent role as an IT Service Analyst with her placement employer, International Personal Finance (IPF) in Leeds. In recognition of her commitment and skills, the company offered to pay for Nichole to do a part-time degree to build her knowledge and skills in IT and she was named a Learner of the Year at the West Yorkshire Work-Based Learning Awards.

Since then Nichole has bought a house, has been promoted, and is currently responsible for the wifi, mobile phone and tablet estate across Asda head offices and stores.

The IT industry is lacking 134,000 skilled people to fill necessary tech roles each year, according to a recent report in Computer Weekly. In 2013/14 only 2.6 per cent of school pupils took computing at GCSE and 13.5 per cent were working towards an information technology GCSE. In the same year, computing and information technology together only represented 1.6 per cent of A-levels.

Women currently account for just 16 per cent of the total UK workforce working in Information Technology, a profession worth £9.1bn to the UK economy.

But Nicole believes the tide is changing. “Since I started at Asda, I have definitely noticed a bigger proportion of women in IT. It is still male-dominated, but there are more and more women joining the field, and also climbing the ranks, which is great to see," she says. "I have multiple women in my department who I can look up to and be mentored by when thinking about my development.”

One of the new wave of female apprentices is Amber Greaves 18, a Level 2 IT apprentice at Shipley College. She says: “What I particularly enjoy about IT is that it’s a subject area that’s constantly evolving. As an apprentice IT technician in a primary school, I experience first-hand the role that IT plays within an organisation. IT is an essential part of modern education. I also work at the school as a teaching assistant, which is a balance I love as I would like to go on and teach IT in the future.”

Shipley College Vice Principal Julie Bales said: “The college is strongly committed to attracting more IT apprentices. Computing is now an integral part of the majority of lives. It plays a significant role in many professions and in our leisure activities.

“Women are massively under-represented in this industry and we would love to see more females studying IT and pursuing careers in this field, which is essential to the future economy. It is important to encourage a good gender balance in such professions. More females carving out successful roles in a STEM (Science Technology, Engineering & Maths) career, like former Shipley College student Nichole, will help close the current gap that exists nationally.”

She added: “Shipley College has an impressive 30 year track record with apprenticeships. Our strong partnerships with local businesses and the calibre of our apprentices are reflected in both the high success rates and high numbers gaining full time employment at the end of their apprenticeship."

Anthony Stirk, Managing Director at Nevis Computers, took on five male apprentices from Shipley College who are now permanent employees.

He said: “We have been working with Shipley College for a number of years now and the quality of apprentices has been excellent. Nearly all the apprentices went on to full-time employment with us and are still working for Nevis to this day. Although Nevis are an equal opportunity employer unfortunately no female IT apprentices have ever come forward.”

This year Shipley College launched a higher (Level 4) apprenticeship in IT, Software, Web and Telecoms Professionals, which is equivalent to a foundation degree. Like intermediate and advanced apprenticeships, higher apprenticeships combine on the job training while studying towards a high level qualification.

Adds Julie: “Given the current focus on rising university tuition fees, plus the shortage of IT skills, offering higher apprenticeships to talented school leavers seemed a natural extension to our existing programmes.”

The Government has recognised the need for high calibre apprenticeships and is making them available to more businesses by asking the Skills Funding Agency to support 20,000 higher apprenticeships by July. It has also announced an additional £40m to fund places up until July, and an extra £20m to fund the higher educational element to the end of March, 2016.