50 More Students to be Trained in Coding

The Ministry of Education, Youth, and Information will be training another 50 students in its Coding in Schools Pilot programme.

The training for this second group of student coders is being aided through sponsorship of $18 million from the NCB Foundation.

The funds were handed over virtually on July 22, during a ceremony at the Amber/HEART Academy, located at the Stony Hill HEART Academy in St. Andrew.

The new batch of students will join the first 50 cohort of coders who are now trainees taking part in a one-year residency programme.

Seasoned coders will work with the trainees and undergo intensive practical training over the next six months.

The students will be employed with the Amber Group software company as developers once they have completed the programme.

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Fayval Williams thanked the NCB Foundation for their partnership and support of the initiative.

“The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information welcomes this support for the second cohort of coders in a continuing collaboration between the HEART/NSTA Trust and the Amber Group,” she said.

She acknowledged the importance of the pilot programme given the increasing demand for employees with this skill such as coding as technology advances.

“We at the Ministry of Education Youth and Information recognise that we must build on the capacity of our students to function in the digital space and to help them to be agile and ready for contemporary and emerging jobs, regardless of their backgrounds and starting points in life,” she said.

The Minister also noted that a continuous reassessment of the curricula and training programmes is necessary to ensure that the knowledge and skills learned are relevant to where the world is moving in this digital age.