Support grows for National Coding Week

Friday 18 September 2015

JT is proud to announce its continued support for National Coding Week which, following the success of its inaugural year, will take place from 21 to 27 September.

National Coding Week is a week-long event offering adults an insight into digital industries. With events planned up and down the country, National Coding Week will give adults an opportunity to learn how to write computer code, potentially opening the door to a new career.

In the Channel Islands a number of events have been organised by businesses, schools, Government and ICT groups; including for the first time, a free coding session hosted by JT for small to medium size business customers at JT’s Jersey offices on Friday 25^th September.

A recent survey conducted by National Coding Week revealed that 52% of adults in the UK said they would feel ‘extremely or very daunted’ at the prospect of learning to code, while 41.3% believed that the older they are, the harder it is to pick up a skill like coding. To see how National Coding Week has evolved and the extent of its reach please click here.

Richard Rolfe, co-founder of National Coding Week, said: “The key aims of National Coding Week are to encourage adults of any age to learn an element of computer coding, to encourage digital experts to share their skills, and to collaborate, share, learn and have fun! If I can learn to code at age 51 then anyone can. We are grateful to JT for their continued support and look forward to another busy week of activities including the JT business-to-business coding event.”

Government representatives from the UK and Wales have been showing their support for the week-long call to action. Wales will be staging a total of 22 events across the country, one in each unitary authority. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, will also be supporting the event for the second year.

The Mayor said: “Coding is a language that is increasingly important for both young people and adults to understand, but it can be an intimidating prospect. National Coding Week will help to make whole generations of Brits more comfortable with coding, allowing them to embrace the business opportunities of the future.”

Tamara O’Brien, Head of Marketing, Brand and Distribution at JT said: “National Coding Week is a concept that has the community at its heart and we’re proud to support it in its second year. Having support from influential business leaders , including the Mayor of London gives the week of activities additional weight and proves there is a real appetite to support skills development among people from all walks of life across the country and indeed here in the Channel Islands. We’re also delighted to this year enable our business customers to get involved and have a go at coding under the expert instruction of Richard Rolfe and Jordan Love in our Jersey offices, opening up this important skill to a wider audience in the Channel Islands.”