Tim Cook, Apple CEO, courtesy photo
The program, which Apple is rolling out at more than 30 community colleges nationwide, allows students to learn app development skills that will prepare them for careers in the technology industry.
“The Austin Community College District, one of the nation’s largest higher learning institutions, will begin offering the course to its 74,000 students this fall,” according to a news release.
Apple created the year long development program to teach students how to build apps using Swift, an open source programming language. The course is designed for students with no programming experience and it teaches them to build fully-functional apps of their own design.
“We’ve seen firsthand how Apple’s app ecosystem has transformed the global economy, creating entire new industries and supporting millions of jobs,” Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in a news release. “We believe passionately that same opportunity should be extended to everyone, and community colleges have a powerful reach into communities where education becomes the great equalizer.”
The Austin Community College District serves students through 11 campuses in eight counties. Austin currently has more than 7,000 job openings in various tech fields and local leaders have been looking for ways to fill those jobs by providing needed skills to the local workforce.
“We’re thrilled to have Apple join our mission to make Austin more affordable for people who already live in the city,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler said in a news release. “Apple is going to be a force multiplier in the community’s ongoing efforts to lift 10,000 out of poverty and into good jobs over the next five years.”
Apple has a large seven building campus in Austin with more than 6,000 employees, according to the Austin Chamber of Commerce. Apple’s Austin operations focus on chip engineering, technology, administration and customer support. And the nearby Flextronics Factory assembles the Apple Mac Pro.
