The SDLP will establish Northern Ireland’s first Digital Technology and Coding Academy in Derry during the next Assembly mandate, the party’s Employment and Learning spokesperson and Foyle candidate in the upcoming election, Gerard Diver, has said.
Mr Diver (pictured) said: “This is a firm commitment to Derry and our economy. The SDLP is striving to ensure a proper alignment between the skills development and higher education services currently offered by the training and higher education sector.
“We must identify the future needs of a growing high value-added economy, which will require an ongoing dialogue with industry and with universities so that this evolution can get underway smoothly.
“This will mean training more young people in the skills of the future – in particular ICT and specifically, coding.
“We therefore intend to establish Northern Ireland’s first Digital Technology and Coding Academy in Derry during the next Assembly mandate.
“We must refocus existing skills provision to ensure we better meet the future needs of a modern fast moving global economy.
“The new Digital Technology and Coding Academy will provide real-time and online coding and digital education for people of all ages across Northern Ireland. The Academy will also be the home for technology start-up and accelerator programmes and will ensure that their reach stretches across the North.
“This will be accompanied by a new Digital Technology Strategy, which will directly link with the Department of Education to ensure that coding and technology feature in all schools.”
Mr Diver concluded: “Indeed, by 2021, we hope to see Northern Ireland having ten “Tech Towns” generating 7,000 new jobs in an expanded ICT sector and where awareness and skills in digital technology have increased dramatically.”
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