Connect Connect October 2017 - January 2018 | Page 9

Developing the Young Workforce

CoderDojo Ayrshire is 3 years old !

CODERDOJO AYRSHIRE CELEBRATED ITS THIRD BIRTHDAY IN NOVEMBER 2017 .
Since November 2014 , Ayrshire College has run over 70 CoderDojo coding clubs at which over 1,000 young people have taken up coding .
The hugely successful club has introduced young people in Ayrshire to programming and developing apps , inspiring more to choose courses to develop digital skills .
The club marked the occasion at the end of last year with a superhero theme . Young people attending were given the chance to take part in various coding activities , such as App Inventor and JavaScript . CoderDojo Ayrshire ’ s final session of 2017 was a special Christmas coding club .
Charlotte Johnson age 13 , from Irvine , is a CoderDojo Ayrshire regular . She attended the CoderDojo EU Dojo in the European Parliament in Brussels in October 2017 , and was the first young Scottish coder to attend . She showcased the coding and technology skills that she gained at the Ayrshire club .
Charlotte credits CoderDojo Ayrshire as her inspiration and said “ The club is always really interesting and up-to-date . The conference was good as I got to meet other young coders from different countries . I even had two MEPs ask me questions about coding !”
In collaboration with external partner , CoderDojo Scotland at the Glasgow Science Centre , our Curriculum Manager Loraine Johnston and other volunteers have done exceptional work to provide young people in Ayrshire with a fun and supportive environment to learn about computer coding .

Since November 2014 , Ayrshire College has run over 70 CoderDojo coding clubs to encourage over 1,000 young people to take up coding .

The Scottish Government reported last year that an additional 12,800 digital skills roles are needed each year in Scotland .
These jobs will only be filled if increasing numbers of people choose to develop the skills required , and we are working hard to inspire more young people at school to choose courses which develop digital skills .
Our CoderDojo sessions are proving to be the perfect introduction to digital skills for young people in Ayrshire .
The magazine of Ayrshire College 9