Apple furthered its Trump-era emphasis on economic development initiatives today when it announced the creation of a new app development curriculum.
The curriculum can be accessed by anyone as a free download from Apple’s iBooks Store. The lessons are aimed at developing skills in Apple’s Swift programming language, and the company said the course is “designed for students who want to pursue careers in the fast-growing app economy.”
While anyone can access the guide, Apple said six community college systems will start incorporating the app development curriculum with their other classes.
“We’ve seen firsthand the impact that coding has on individuals and the U.S. economy as a whole. The app economy and software development are among the fastest-growing job sectors in America, and we’re thrilled to be providing educators and students with the tools to learn coding,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “Community colleges play a critical role in helping students achieve their dreams, and we hope these courses will open doors for people of all ages and backgrounds to pursue what they love.”
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Those schools are:
- Alabama Community College System
- Columbus State Community College
- Harrisburg Area Community College
- Houston Community College,
- Mesa Community College
- San Mateo Community College
Several high schools will also teach app development, Apple said. And Houston Community College is actually opening an iOS Coding and Design School to offer the curriculum.
The new program comes a few weeks after Apple announced its new Advanced Manufacturing Fund, which promises to spend $1 billion on new manufacturing initiatives.
In its press release, Apple, which was criticized by Trump during his campaign for outsourcing manufacturing of products, emphasized the company’s positive economic impact: “The new Swift coding curriculum is another example of Apple’s commitment to economic development and will help create even more career opportunities for students across the country. Apple now supports 2 million jobs across all 50 states, including more than 1.5 million jobs attributable to Apple’s app economy.”
