Small Business Column: Time computer science curriculum in schools

Galway East TD Ciaran Cannon said last week that Ireland needs to look seriously at creating a computer science curriculum in schools. Kehlan Kirwan examines why it’s a good idea.

The OECD recently released a report which showed the percentage of young Irish people who were unemployed and not partaking in any skills or training was near 25%.

That’s a quarter of young people being left behind from skills which may provide them a future. So how do we solve this annual reoccurring problem in Ireland?

Recently Galway East TD Ciaran Cannon suggested that Ireland needs to follow the lead of our neighbours in the UK and make computer science part of the school’s curriculum.

It is an idea that has been roundly welcomed by the tech community in Ireland. The Government is always talking about how technology will drive our future. Tech companies are always talking about the shortage of skilled young Irish workers.

The problem is apparent and so is the solution. Bringing computer science into the curriculum is now a must. It is no longer good enough to allow the brunt of computer science activities to take place outside of the curriculum.

The likes of WhizzKids and Coder-Dojo should be invited to be part of the education system and develop the skills of young people.

At the very least they should be invited to consult on what form a computer science subject would take in schools.

There are problems with this idea of course. Adding another subject to an education system that still, in effect, has not reached modernity with computers in the first place.

The ratio of pupils to computers in schools stands at seven to one.

Cannon stressed the point that “he doesn’t want Ireland to be a nation of programmers” but that we can no longer accept the fact that schools do not offer something of this sort in the system.

If there is a skills gap in Ireland then it is in our education system where it needs to begin to be bridged.

Ireland has some of the best birth survival rates in Europe, if not the world. Medically we have created a system which takes great care in the wellbeing of our kids.

However, it is skills which provide them with a future. From the moment they are born we aim to develop their bodies and their cognitive skills to the best that they can be. It is no different the older they get.

They still need to get the skills which will be essential for their future. In Ireland right now that means developing kids with the passion and drive to be part of a technological and analytical future.

Sometimes we under estimate just how smart and clever kids can be. If you give them a platform to do something that they enjoy, then they will flourish. This is a great idea and an opportunity which cannot be missed.