We are bombarded with announcements and debates about #CatchUp. But what do young people need to catch up on? The government wants an emphasis on literacy and numeracy, wellbeing experts want a spotlight on the arts and sports while some schools want staff to catch up, with a focus on professional development.
Natalie Moore, newly appointed CEO of Apps for Good, has a different perspective. She is concerned that we still see young people leaving education without some of the most basic digital literacy skills, let alone a knowledge of, or maybe even an interest in, coding or programming.
'2014 saw the introduction of a new computing curriculum in England yet all we hear from industry is that there is an ever-growing skills shortage,' she said. 'Companies are crying out for young people competent and ready to fill the jobs of today. Even more importantly, we need to make sure they have the skills and mindset to take on the jobs of tomorrow.'
Apps for Good ethos
Apps for Good is an education technology charity preparing young people to thrive in a changing world. It was launched back in 2010 and has an established track record of building creative technology courses.
Over the 12 years since its inception, it has reached over 200,000 students in 4,391 schools across the UK and around the world. 'We do truly believe that engaging all young people in tech innovation is vital to shape a better world,' said Natalie. 'We don't believe in coding for the sake of it, but instead we want students to apply technology to a problem that they genuinely care about. We want to empower young people to make the world a better place.