Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has called for the introduction of mandatory programming classes in all Australian Schools. Here here. Computers are impacting every industry and all parts of our lives and if we fast forward 15 years to when kids at school are heading into the workforce, coding skills will serve them well. Even if a job doesn’t require programming in the position description, kids can benefit from the thought processes that go into developing applications and services.
Many people use apps and services developed by others, but with the tools now be affordable and learning resources being plentiful, it’s now down to motivation and time. It’s clear that the earlier people learn programming skills, the earlier they can put them to good use. Internationally there’s plenty examples of teenagers starting companies, which on the surface sounds crazy, but many have 10 years experience by that point.
What do you think? Should programming be mandatory in all Australian Schools?