Your role in averting an international recruitment crisis in technology – one hour at a time

In case you’ve not heard, this week will see tens of millions of students in more than 180 countries participate in a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify software coding and broaden participation in the field of computer science.

The Hour of Code brings together more than 350 organizations and tens of millions of students in every country around the world. The campaign, Organized by Code.org, culminates with a massive coding event during this week’s Computer Science Education Week. There are more than 190,000 registered events planned.

It aims to help tackle a huge workforce issue across the globe. In 2015, there were 500,000 new computing jobs available in the U.S, but only 40,000 computer science graduates available to fill them. But it’s not just the US - Australian studies show there’s a decline in student participation in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects in school.

In contrast the huge demand for STEM skilled recruits is not waning - in the UK the National Health Service remains the biggest recruiter of workers with STEM qualifications. According to data from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills last year, 43 percent of STEM vacancies have proved hard to fill because of a shortage of applicants with the required skills and experience. One study suggests that the UK currently faces a shortage of skilled engineers, estimated in Engineering UK’s 2017 State of Engineering Report at 20,000 annually.

In Germany, the shortage of skilled labour is under the spotlight, raising concerns that it could dampen economic growth – and STEM-skilled workers are among the most in demand. Across Europe as a whole, there is expected to be a shortage of 350,000 cyber security professionals by 2022.

It is clear where this demand comes from. Software and computers in every form impact every part of our lives. Everything from medical treatment to travel requires code. Many of the world’s largest companies that we rely on every day are built on software and code. From the point we turn on the first light in the morning to set the alarm at night, we have relied on code for many of our activities during the day. On average, car’s built this year will contain 100 million lines of code.

Research shows that children can begin to pick up programming concepts before they know how to read and write. If they’re introduced to programming at a young age, they’re more like to study it later on. Coding is essential to build the tools, technologies and innovations that will shape much of our future—while also nurturing problem-solving skills, logic and creativity.

A range of solutions have been proposed to try and match the supply of skilled workers with the huge demand across the globe. Immigration policies can help attract skilled workers with technical expertise. But creating a pipeline of young people with computer science skills has to be the long-term solution. To do this requires that young people become interested and motivated to pursue careers in computer science once they’ve finished their work in the classroom.

Accenture will play a small role to support the Hour of Code. Our employees in more than 200 cities across 56 countries have pledged more than 10,000 hours to participate in Hour of Code activities or events. This includes more than 2,000 hours pledged by Accenture employees to lead local events or volunteer at schools in their communities by working with teachers and Code.org to help students learn the basics of coding through online tutorials that inspire students to continue learning.

We have also developed a coding tutorial that helps students better understand the uses of artificial intelligence (AI). The tutorial features a robot that uses AI to explore a new planet. Students will learn about various AI techniques that teach the robot how to recognize animals and plants, understand a new language, and converse with inhabitants.  

As part of this year’s Hour of Code activities, some of my colleagues from Accenture’s leadership team, including Jo Deblaere, Accenture’s chief operating officer and others, will join Accenture employees from around the world to complete more than 10,000 hours pledged for Hour of Code activities in more than 200 cities across countries. Why not join in? Go to https://code.org/ and register your interest. Go on, make a difference.