Workshare and Raspberry Pi teach kids computer coding

 pic: Extra Ketchup

Young people will be supported in new tech skills pic: Extra Ketchup

A new initiative to engage young people in computer science and teach coding skills is to take place in Tower Hamlets, and will give local students the chance of winning paid internships.

Workshare, a leading provider of file sharing and collaboration applications, has announced today that they will be working with Raspberry Pi, a charity dedicated to supplying children with cheap computers, to offer a 5-week course of lessons to a select group of 40 young people.

At the end of the programme, students will be offered a chance to enter a competition to develop their own application and present it to a panel of Workshare and industry judges. The top three students will be awarded a paid internship with Workshare during the summer of 2014.

The lessons have been developed by Workshare with Andrew Robinson, of Manchester University, and Resonate, a recruitment social enterprise. The programme is aimed at providing young people with greater insight into the world of tech and the future paths they may take working for tech-based companies.

The students will be supported in the learning process by trained youth workers from Tower Hamlets Integrated Youth and Community Services (IYCS). The programme was also developed in association with BCS and the Chartered Institute of IT.

Anthony Foy, CEO of Workshare, said: “As the IT skills shortage threatens to restrain UK’s economic recovery, the onus is on businesses to foster interest in IT and equip our young people with the technical knowledge they need for professional success.”

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