Connect, a leading IT support company, has launched a new initiative designed to attract more women into the IT industry.

Known as 'Google Girls', the scheme is aimed at increasing the proportion of women working at the firm to 50 per cent over the next two years.

This involves changing the internal culture of the company so as to make it more attractive to women, and the introduction of a flexible working structure to allow mothers to return to work after having children - jobsharing, flexible hours and childcare vouchers all play their part.

As well as this, Connect is reaching out to future IT workers by establishing links with local schools and groups such as 'Women in Technology' and 'Computer Club for Girls'.

One problem identified by the firm is the outdated perception of IT as a male industry - the percentage of female IT workers in the UK is just 16 per cent.

However, Connect chief executive Mark MacGregor notes that, if the EU is to prevent a predicted shortfall of qualified IT staff, "it would be madness to ignore 50 per cent of the potential target audience".

He added: "The key to success will be attracting the right calibre of skilled people into the industry - and by that we mean technical expertise, client liaison skills, creative potential and so on - not necessarily people with a penchant for weightlifting or a degree in Klingon."

According to Manchester Metropolitan University lecturer, women used to make up half the IT workforce in the 1960s, but that figure subsequently declined dramatically.

According to recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent)