Apple will offer thousands of free Hour of Code sessions to customers at Apple Retail Stores worldwide starting December 1.

The company has also published a huge range of additional materials to help teach coding using Swift, including new learning and a new app development certification. In taking these steps the company is making it quite clear it understands the impact of digital transformation on the enterprise

Preparing the new workspace

Saying it wanTs to “help prepare and develop students for the workforce,” Apple also unveiled new Advanced Placement curriculum and App Development with Swift certification.

The App Development with Swift curriculum gives students the critical skills they need to qualify for the rapidly emerging high-demand and high-skill jobs.

In the next school year, Apple will release a free AP Computer Science Principles course syllabus and curriculum, giving high school students the opportunity to earn Advanced Placement (AP) credit for learning App Development with Swift.

Students can also earn a certification that recognizes their knowledge of Swift, app developer tools and core components of apps. The App Development with Swift Level 1 certification exams are offered through Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide. Today more than 5,000 schools, community colleges and technical colleges worldwide are using Everyone Can Code curriculum.

The key thing about all these steps is that they betray Apple’s recognition not only that there’s a real need to train more developers than the world currently has available, but also that it sees that in future as automation claims so many low-skill jobs, soft skills like coding, creative expression (and empathy) will be the key skills employers need.

Tomorrow’s world needs coders

The Swift Coding Club materials are designed to help teach coding outside of the classroom with Swift, Apple’s programming language used by professional developers to create world-class apps.

The new kit gives students aged 8 and up the ability to collaborate, prototype apps and explore how coding can make a difference in their communities using fun activities from Swift Playgrounds and App Development with Swift.

To celebrate Computer Science Education Week, Apple has also introduced a new Hour of Code Facilitator Guide to help educators host sessions in their classroom using Swift Playgrounds and other iPad apps.

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About the free Hour of Code sessions

Youcan register free Hour of Code sessions today. These will be available at all Apple Store locations around the world from December 1 through 14.

The sessions will provide opportunities for people at a variety of skill levels to learn coding.

Kids Hour sessions will help aspiring coders aged six to 12 explore coding with robots, while those aged 12 and above can attend sessions using Swift Playgrounds and iPad to learn coding concepts.