Rethinking digital skills…..

As a provider of spaces where people learn about software technologies, software development, programming languages, problem solving and team working, futureCoders looks to the community for intelligence on what skills are needed by the UK economy in its current and future states.

Recurring themes are:

• there are not enough skilled workers to meet demand now and not enough skills to meet the demands of a future, more technology driven economy
• workers need to be equipped with the skills to learn quickly, to adapt to changing environments and to fill changing roles
• our education system seems entrenched in meeting the needs of an economy that no longer exists and so these shortages, in terms of immediate skills and ability to aquire new skills quickly and independently, will not be address for generations.

These themes, sadly, are not new. We have been hearing this for upwards of 10 years. There are many posts, papers and articles out there on this theme. Changes are made but they are still skimming around the edges and impact is small.

Time to reset?

Now is a time of great, and fast, change. The economy will change, there will be hardship, there will be a need to adapt, to learn new ways to work, to socialise, to communicate, etc. Surely this is an opportunity that has been forced on us and which we would be foolish not to take. The ‘new normal’ needs to be just that a ‘new’ normal, not just a holding stage while we get back to the normal we knew up to the beginning of 2020.

The ‘science’ tells us that we are devastating the planet, that resources will diminish and some ecosystems will be lost forever. Our own progress line tells us that there are many answers in technology, yet we fail to equip enough people with the skills to use it.

futureCoders is a small organisation, with a quiet voice, but we want to do big things to help address some of the problems. During the lockdown we have moved our ‘work experience’ programme online. We have a group of 5 young people working together with myself, Maggy (our developer volunteer) and an intern (currently being recruited) to develop an app that will have an impact on the autism community and will help to equip 5 young people with improved coding skills, better understanding of technology systems and their potential use, better understanding of team dynamics, effective communication, time management and more. Being forced to work online has opened up opportunities to allow young people from a wider area to participate, and to volunteers from a wider area to act as mentors.

We have also started an event called Code Canteen, from an idea presented by Maggy, where developers at any stage of their learning, of any age and any background, can get together, code together, work through coding problems and challenges together. The collaborative nature of the learning means that people of all ages and all stages of learning can learn from each other, can develop their skills and can find ways to communicate questions and share knowledge. Everyone at Code Canteen is doing some form of online learning and so is combining individual learning with collaborative learning, which enriches the process.

Our work is making an impact and we will continue to grow what we do. We can see a future where some Code Canteen principles are adopted by schools, colleges, universities, business and the whole community and, will allow people from industry to learn alongside students, allows generations to learn with each other, and allow the experienced to share knowledge with the beginning learner.

You can find more information about Code Canteen (and registration) here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/code-canteen-tickets-102517905816

Our work has been generously supported by UnLtd, RSA, The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, PALS Society and Global Associates UK

futureCodersSE CIC is a member of the steering group of the SELEP Digital Skills Partnership