National Coding Week aims at adult learners

Taking place over September 21-27, there will be free-to-attend training sessions across the UK, where people will be taught the basics of coding alongside other beginners with little or no previous knowledge. There is a clickable event map on the National Coding Week website.

“The key aims of National Coding Week are to encourage adults of any age to learn an element of computer coding, to encourage digital experts to share their skills, and to collaborate, share, learn and have fun,” said event co-founder Richard Rolfe. “If I can learn to code at age 51 then anyone can.”

According to organisers, 52% of adults in the UK said they would feel ‘extremely or very daunted’ at the prospect of learning to code, while 41.3% believed that the older they are, the harder it is to pick up a skill like coding.

Boris Johnson is supporting the event for a second year.

“Coding is a language that is increasingly important for both young people and adults to understand, but it can be an intimidating prospect. National Coding Week will help to make whole generations of Brits more comfortable with coding, allowing them to embrace the business opportunities of the future,” he said.

Organisations already supporting this year’s event include: Decoded, Women Who Code, We Got Coders, Codeclan, Incubus London and International tech conference organisers Future Insights.

“The future is being written in lines of code.  Whether you’re 7, 17, 37 or 70 there has never been a better time to learn the languages of technology, the language of billions. Take the leap during National Coding Week,” said Decoded co-founder Kathryn Parsons. “Whether you sign up to a code school, learn on-line or buddy up with a coder in your local community, there are so many ways to learn. Take your first steps behind the screen, unleash your inner geek and see how fun and creative it can be.”

This year’s event is sponsored by JT Group Global.