Channel welcomes arrival of coding in schools
Some suggest the curriculum changes are overdue
The channel has welcomed today's introduction of coding to the national curriculum, but some claim the move is "long overdue".
As of today, children as young as five will be taught how to do computer coding as part of sweeping changes to the national curriculum.
Channel faces have welcomed the move to improve IT teaching across primary and secondary schools, but said the government could have got the ball rolling sooner.
"It's probably long overdue, in my opinion," said Ian Parslow, reseller MTI's senior vice president for sales.
"In our tech team we have roles open for far longer than those in sales, admin and accounts, for example. We've had to go further afield to recruit the right level of expertise and talent. The big frustration we have internally is that we take the experts we've got and train them but once we've invested in them, they become valuable for headhunters, and that is a source of irritation for us."
HDS' UK managing director Richard Gadd agreed that timing is important.
"Technologies such as digital innovation and big data are redefining the jobs market, and UK businesses have been worried for a while that we face a skills deficit in supplying the next generation of workers with the right knowledge and skills to thrive in a data-driven world," he said.
"The key is that we address the problem now and help ensure that we are preparing tomorrow's generation with the right skills to help them succeed."
Parslow added that that teaching technical skills from a young age can only be a good thing for the UK economy as a whole and Softcat's solutions director Sam Routledge agreed.
"It is important that coding and development will increase in importance... [so we have] the potential workforce we can tap into in the future," he said. "I would welcome anything that introduces kids to technology and makes it more a part of their lives – not just from a channel perspective but because that is the world we are in today."