The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 4.4 million jobs will require computer science and information technology skills by 2024, due to the increase in growth of mobile technology, cloud computing and big data. But it’s not just a projected lack of a skilled workforce in the future. The current workforce is already limited by a shortage of workers and recent graduates with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) degrees. Primary schools that teach coding are rare, leaving a gap in students’ educations that make it difficult to pursue STEM studies in college.
The Wyoming Department of Workforce Services and the Wyoming Department of Education have teamed up with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to address these needs, and have piloted the goIT program with Johnson County School District #1 to demystify computer science and to help students gain the skills and confidence required to pursue STEM degrees.
Listen to how Johnson County School District #1 and TCS implemented the experimental, immersive program for middle school students to give them hands-on education in design thinking and mobile app development with mentorship from TCS employee volunteers. The students work in teams to identify a problems, generate solutions through the design thinking process and then present their work to peers and judges.
