Students enrolled in all Jamaican schools will now be history makers, as the Amber Group and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (MOEYI), prepares to roll out the National Coding curriculum, the first of its kind in the Caribbean.

The announcement was made last Friday, at an official launch of the programme by the Minister of Education, Youth and Information Fayval Williams.

This curriculum roll-out follows a three-month Coding in Schools’ pilot programme, between April and June this year. The programme engaged 2,000 grades four and nine students in 20 schools across the island who were taught the fundamentals of coding by Amber Group’s Master Coders.

“Amber has spent a year developing this intensive coding curriculum in consultation with the MOEYI and other international subject matter experts. Our post-programme assessment confirmed that more than 85 per cent of students who participated, found the pilot programme to be highly informative and helpful in building their coding knowledge. The students enjoyed working on basic concepts of coding which improved their creativity and problem-solving skills, and helped them to think more critically,” said Michael McNaughton, Managing Director of the Amber Group, in his address at the launch event.

In his keynote address, Prime Minister Andrew Holness thanked the Amber Group for its efforts in supporting the MOEYI’s thrust for greater technological instruction while also enhancing its capacity.

Holness also stressed the importance of preparing students for new and emerging jobs and transforming Jamaica into a digital society. “As a country, we must accelerate our investment in the markets of the jobs of tomorrow, to get our fair share of these new digital economy jobs.”

“More and more aspects of our everyday lives are becoming automated. As this happens the supply gap for persons with technological skills will continue to grow. It is estimated that 10 million jobs will be unfilled in the next decade, because workers do not have the necessary skills, particularly in coding…The more of those skills we develop, the quicker we are able to move into a digital society,” he added.

Students will begin learning to code early next year, while the …….

Source: https://jamaica.loopnews.com/content/amber-group-invest-150m-yearly-fund-coding-schools-programme