BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland State Department of Education on Friday announced the launch of a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) program of study in partnership with Apple that will teach students mobile applications and software development beginning next school year. The Mobile Applications and Software Development Program starts by teaching students how to use the Swift programming language. Swift is used to program macOS, iOS, watchOS, tvOS and other devices.

This new CTE program will provide students with hands-on experiences in the rapidly growing world of mobile app development and software engineering. The App Development program is primarily for high school and consists of three courses beyond the “Everyone Can Code” (ECC) course, although school systems have the option of including the ECC course for students with little to no experience with coding. As with other CTE programs of study, the App Development program can be introduced by school systems to students in middle school, for high school credit. Upon graduation, industry credentials earned can funnel students into the workforce pipeline.

“Career and Technology Education offers students lifelong opportunities to learn and apply new skills, which provide them with career choices in high-demand skills,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “Our administration is committed to ensuring that Maryland students have access to the critical career and technology courses needed to develop the necessary skills for employment and success in the 21st Century global economy.”

“As technology advances, there is growing demand for handheld devices and mobile applications. This new partnership with Apple is another example of how Maryland public schools are partnering with industry leaders to bring the needed knowledge for tomorrow’s technical jobs into classrooms today,” says Maryland Schools Superintendent Karen B. Salmon, Ph.D. “The Mobile Applications and Software Development Program of Study provides an outstanding opportunity for students to gain hands- on experience in computer science, data analysis, and app development. These skills are directly transferable to jobs in Maryland’s workforce.”

Already this past summer, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Montgomery County worked directly with Apple and in partnership with Montgomery College and the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, to implement a virtual summer camp called “Montgomery Can Code.” At the free camp, more than 950 students focused on the introductory “Everyone Can Code” course, immersing themselves in the basics of Swift.

As technological advances continue to skyrocket and handheld devices are more widely used, the job market for app developers will continue to grow. According to Apple, last year the Maryland economy created 25,000 new app development jobs. Since April 2019, the iOS app economy has created nearly 300,000 new jobs. The Mobile Applications and Software Development CTE Program of Study will be available for school systems to implement in the 2021-2022 school year.