A survey carried out by Amarach Research for UPC has found that a third of adults consider coding a more important skills than being fluent in the Irish language. The survey, conducted on 1,000 adults to coincide with EU Code Week, also found widespread acceptance that coding should become part of the regular school curriculum with two-thirds saying it was of equal importance to core studies such as maths, history, geography, business studies, English, languages and Art.
Even though there is a strongly positive sentiment towards learning coding, just under 1 in 5 people said they are aware of the CoderDojo initiative (where increasing numbers of children nationwide are taking part in coding clubs or ‘dojos’ run by local volunteers).
However, three-quarters of respondents said that they would send their child to learn computer coding, assuming groups and facilities were available in their area.
Among those who are aware of the CoderDojo initiative, higher levels of awareness were found in Leinster (including Dublin), followed by Munster and Connacht/Ulster, with a somewhat higher number of men also indicating they are aware of the initiative than women (20% v 14%). The highest awareness was demonstrated in 24 – 44-year-olds.
UPC, in partnership with CoderDojo, last week announced that they will create ten new CoderDojos across Ireland over the next 12 months. Staff volunteers have been supporting a new CoderDojo near the company’s head office in Sandymount in Dublin which has proven highly popular with over 50 local children now regularly attending, some as young as 6-years-of-age. A number of the older children are now also mentoring their friends in Scratch (a learning resource for coding).
Anna-Maria Barry, UPC staff volunteer at the CoderDojo and corporate communications general manager for UPC Ireland, said: “The research findings are positive but they indicate there is some way to go to promote the availability and participation in coding and digital skills among parents and young people nationwide. Our goal is to enable CoderDojo to reach more and more young people, giving them the opportunity to learn coding skills that will help them become the next generation of creators and innovators. It’s also important for children to have fun while they learn and this is exactly what CoderDojo is achieving. Many children come to our local CoderDojo in the afternoon after they’ve already enjoyed sports, so it’s a winning combination where they can also exercise their minds with a digital skill set that will undoubtedly contribute to their lives for the future.”
This announcement is also part of UPC’s involvement with the Davos Declaration on the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs, an initiative launched by the European Commission to respond to the shortage of workers in the digital sector for almost 900,000 ICT positions, including 7,000 Irish opportunities.
TechCentral Reporters
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers