Digital literacy - the language for tomorrow's workforce

WHEN Singapore announced earlier this month that from 2020, all upper primary students will take coding enrichment classes to expose them to basic digital skills, it prompted a savvy comment, in one report, about the rise of a new-age mother tongue.

Indeed, with the digital economy well upon us, encroaching into virtually every aspect of life - at home, at work, at play - it's apparent that coding has become a language that young Singaporeans, members of tomorrow's workforce, will do well to master, or at least be conversant in. Nicely named Code For Fun, the programme, available as an optional enrichment course since 2014, aims to develop an appreciation for computational thinking and coding concepts, using tools such as simple visual-based programming and robotic kits, and will, quite rightly, be non-examinable.

There will be no lack of geeky boys and girls, techie whizkids all, in whom the coding classes will spark a keen interest, perhaps even a lifelong passion for IT and computing. In fact, commercial coding schools have reported high demand for classes for a few years now as parents send children, as young as five years of age, to pick up what they see as essential life skills. In any case, with coding concepts being based largely on logic, the training in clear thinking and analytical problem-solving will stand the students in good stead well outside computing.