Why Quantum Needs Diversity: Part 2

Author - Stuart Woods

Last week, I spoke to TechUK and QED-C about how the quantum industry is encouraging people to think about pursuing a career in quantum, and to discuss what else we might do to drive growth, diversity, and collaboration.

Next in this series on diversity in quantum, I spoke with Michael Cuthbert, director of the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), and James Palles-Dimmock, CEO at Quantum Motion.

We discussed why diversity is important for the quantum industry, how industry leaders are working to achieve it through a selection and interview philosophy of ‘culture-add’ rather than ‘culture-fit’, and the variation a career in quantum computing can offer. It is becoming increasingly obvious that accelerating industry success will largely depend on engaging with people from a variety of disciplines, at all levels, at all ages.

“We need to engage with school kids earlier and across all demographics on STEM subjects – quantum is cool, it’s too bad too many have decided science, maths or computing is not for them long before they ever get the chance to hear about quantum or other great emerging technologies. This is equally true of engineering, a field under-valued in the UK compared to other G7 countries.” - NQCC

Both NQCC and Quantum Motion are interested in the challenge of scalability which the development of quantum computing poses. NQCC takes a research-focused approach, working with the government, businesses and the academic community to accelerate the growth of the emerging industry. Quantum Motion is developing the technological architecture to take the commercialisation of quantum from a dream to a reality.

“Free movement of people, goods and capital underpinned by a shared legal framework to ensure a level playing field is something with proven benefits both in terms of diversity, employment and the economy – that is not restricted to quantum.”

Stuart: Why is a diverse workforce so important to the commercial success of the quantum industry?

NQCC: “We need people from a range of backgrounds and experiences to bring their knowledge and creativity to solving the challenges associated with quantum information science. We also need different perspectives within this growing sector which can identify who benefits in the industry and across society – that means we need society to be represented in our industry.”

Quantum Motion: “Diverse teams have been shown to boost creativity and innovation, two critical requirements if we want to continue to be successful in making breakthroughs in order to deliver scalable quantum computing.”

Stuart: What are NQCC, UK Quantum and Quantum Motion doing to support diversity?

NQCC: “Hiring good people! The team is increasingly diverse but there is work to be done in more senior roles. Increasingly, we are seeing diverse candidates, both in terms of gender and ethnicity, coming through in technical roles on applications, interviews, job offers and contract acceptances.

As standard practice we have written and in some cases re-written our job specs as much as possible using inclusive language, minimising long lists of must-have experience, qualifications and essential requirements, and wherever possible we ensure diverse interview panels within the recruitment process.”

Quantum Motion: “We look for culture-add not culture-fit whenever we are hiring for a new role and have a process that involves two interviews with senior staff members who can challenge each other on their decision making process. The process is still heavily focused on finding the absolute best person for the job, but it is helpful to continually remind yourself that this might not look like someone who is already on the team.”

Stuart: Are there any existing initiatives that are worth sharing?

Quantum Motion: “Our highly competitive paid internships ensure that anyone is able to apply and enter the quantum workforce, regardless of their financial situation. We had over 200 applicants for our 3 hardware roles, and the interns are bringing some tremendous diversity of thinking to the teams.”

Stuart: What initiatives are needed to drive greater industry diversity?

NQCC: “We need to engage with school kids earlier and across all demographics on STEM subjects – quantum is cool, it’s too bad too many have decided science, maths or computing is not for them long before they ever get the chance to hear about quantum or other great emerging technologies. This is equally true of engineering, a field under-valued in the UK compared to other G7 countries.”

Quantum Motion: “Increasing diversity starts in the talent pool, so the industry needs to do everything it can to encourage bright people from all backgrounds to apply to the kinds of university courses that will set them up for a career in quantum computing. Part of this is showing the wider community that we already have a diverse workforce and that people from a variety of backgrounds are driving this technology forwards.

In order to encourage the diversity that already exists, the most important thing is to have an inclusive workplace. Enabling people to be themselves at work is the one thing that will encourage diversity in any organisation.”

Stuart: Do we already have the skills or educational levels that we need to support the quantum ecosystem?

NQCC: “No. We need more skilled people coming into quantum technologies and not just at the early career/graduate/PhD level. We need to be able to attract and retain talent from overseas through fast track visa programmes, removing barriers and making the UK the go-to place for ambitious talented people. We also need a culture of continuous professional development across the industry and to enable skilled people to move into quantum in an easy way, recognising QC is a challenging technical area – there is plenty to be done and people from outside physics will make significant contributions without question.”

Quantum Motion: “We find that the people that want to join us are the world’s best and the work that universities are doing through PhD programmes is preparing a highly capable workforce. The government has done a good job in supporting these programmes, but they need to increase the level of support to ensure growth in this important sector of the UK economy. One further thing to add is that it is often termed the “quantum” ecosystem, but we see a lot more crossover with electrical engineers in our development than we do with other flavours of quantum computer. Recognising that very valuable skills exist in adjacent, non-quantum, technology areas is critical to our development.”

Stuart: Do you see a place for the apprentice programs in the UK or the community college system in the US being leveraged to provide skills for quantum growth?

NQCC: “Yes, it's vital to have skills development across multiple disciplines and from a variety of academic backgrounds and with practical engineering skills.”

Quantum Motion: “Certain roles in the quantum industry, and the electronics industry more widely could certainly be filled with apprentices and I would support such programmes to widen access to as many people as possible with the skills required to enable our community to be as successful as possible.”

Stuart: Do you believe that there should be free movement between like-minded countries involved in quantum?

NQCC: “Yes, but we need to partner with respect – for the individual and with the countries that have invested to train people. The UK should not end up the high-skill training partner for international partners who are able and willing to pay for those skills and academic training later down the road.”

Quantum Motion: “Free movement of people, goods and capital underpinned by a shared legal framework to ensure a level playing field is something with proven benefits both in terms of diversity, employment and the economy – that is not restricted to quantum.”

Click here to explore the Working in Quantum campaign produced by Oxford Instruments NanoScience in partnership with the Quantum Insider.

*First published by Stuart Woods on LinkedIn