O2 is gathering 300 14-18-year olds for lessons from some of the UK’s biggest names in tech, including Mozilla and Decoded.

Sessions will include coding, robot programming and app building, giving hands-on experience of the latest digital technologies and one-to-one careers advice.

Decoded will help the young people understand the nuts and bolts of digital production and give an introduction to the world of programming. Mozilla, with The Hive Network and London Zoo, will give students their first taste of writing for the web, digital journalism and video editing with Mozilla Webmaker.

Hyper Island, alongside Ravensbourne College and The Bridge 21C, will offer students a range of intensive learning experiences, from digital art direction to eCommerce and data strategy.

They will also have the chance to visit a Digital Marketplace, where leading digital businesses  will show how they use digital skills in their industries.

The initiative is part of Think Big, O2’s pledge to help make Britain a digital economy by inspiring, supporting and funding the digitally skilled workforce of the future.

The company has already launched GoThinkBig with Bauer Media, which has a combined commitment of £5m to help 14 to 25-year-olds develop digital skills. Over the next three years, the scheme will offer 30,000 work experience opportunities across the UK.

“The young people here today all grew up with the internet, and the latent digital talents they possess have huge value to our economy but as it stands, there’s just not enough being done to harness them,” said Ronan Dunne, O2s CEO.

“We believe that by investing in young people now we will be able to unlock the wealth of digital skills and knowledge – key to future innovation and growth – that sits firmly within the youth community.”

O2 has already increased the number of paid apprenticeships and internships it offers. The company also has on-going mentoring and coaching opportunities across a broad range of business areas.