Whether you knew it or not we’re now in EU coding week, meaning there are plenty of events out there for you to learn how to code, or to get the young people in your life started with coding. The Nordic and Baltic countries are stacked with events, which can be easily found by following this link. If you’re in Norway you’re a little left out, but at least its Oslo Innovation Week.
We’re not trying to blow up our own bubble here, but there’s good reason to teach coding to the masses. According to the European Commission, demand for ICT practitioners is growing annually by 3% but the number of graduates from computer science not keeping pace. “As a result many open vacancies for ICT practitioners cannot be filled, despite the high level of unemployment in Europe. If we do not appropriately address this issue at a European and national level, we may face a shortage of up to 900,000 ICT professionals by 2020,” mentions EU Code week in their literature.
So by motivating tech companies, European institutions, NGOs, and private individuals to share their coding knowledge in events, the goal is to demystify coding and make at least the basics known to a wider audience. There’s plenty of young people that need an introduction to programming, currently the UK is the only country that has mandatory coding in the curriculum with Finland adding programming in 2016 for all age groups. As we’ve covered, Estonia and Catalonia also providing coding as an option for the primary and secondary levels.
Again, check out what events are happing in the region, and think about what events you could throw this year or next!
