BATON ROUGE, LA – The Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) announced a new initiative to bring Apple’s “Develop in Swift” content and certifications to its colleges statewide. These advanced coding resources provide students with cutting-edge skills that will enable them to compete in the state’s thriving app economy.
Swift is Apple’s powerful, intuitive programming language used to develop apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. Students who build their proficiency in Swift can pursue careers in high demand by employers, both statewide and nationally, from a wide range of industries with needs for app developers. In fact, the iOS app economy supported more than 2.2 million jobs in the US in 2021 alone.
“At Apple, we believe education can be a powerful force for equity, and that all learners should have access to resources and tools for careers of the future,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president, education and enterprise marketing. “We’re thrilled The Louisiana Community and Technical College System will be offering Swift coding resources and certifications to learners across the state, setting their students up for success in the fast-growing app economy in careers across industries.”
The Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges (LCTCS) are committed to providing each student access to quality educational programs and lifelong learning— improving the lives and livelihoods of more than 150,000 students collectively.
“This initiative demonstrates LCTCS’s commitment to building digital skills, equity and access to jobs being made available by the digital infrastructure improvements across our state,” said LCTCS President Dr. Monty Sullivan. “With the power of Apple’s app ecosystem joining our curriculum, it is an exciting time to be a student in Louisiana. We are not only proud to offer this coding program to our students, but also play a role in improving the overall quality of life for residents of Louisiana.”
Courses offered through this new initiative will be part of LCTCS’s workforce programming, granting several hundred students access to certification exams at no cost.
All twelve of Louisiana’s community and technical colleges will be officially participating in the initiative as it launches regionally across the state. Participating colleges include:
Baton Rouge Community College
Bossier Parish Community College
Central Louisiana Technical Community College
Delgado Community College
Fletcher Technical Community College
Louisiana Delta Community College
Northshore Technical Community College
Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College
Nunez Community College
River Parishes Community College
South Louisiana Community College
SOWELA Technical Community College
As part of this initiative, Apple, ACT | The App Association, and LCTCS are holding a series of informational sessions entitled “Coding a Career.” The event features informational sessions where students gain first-hand, practical advice on how to enter into the tech workforce. The first event took place on February 1 at Delgado Community College. The next event will take place at Bossier Parish Community College on Wednesday, March 1 at 9:45 AM.
###
