Why Code Club?

Mission

We believe that every young person should have access to the tools and skills to power their own future. That’s why we’ve built and back Code Club Australia; a nationwide network of over 2,000 volunteer-led coding classes in schools and libraries that aim to #GetKidsCoding. We bring Code Clubs to kids all over regional and remote Australia and provide free online teaching resources . We also create the exciting annual, international coding event for kids: Moonhack . We imagine a world where every child, no matter where they live, has the opportunity to shape their future. At Telstra Foundation , we’re proud to invest in the changemakers of tomorrow, today.

Why teach coding? What are the benefits?

Today’s young people will work, live and play in a world that is increasingly digital. They’ll require skills to solve problems that don’t exist yet, they’ll become changemakers that build new solutions and community members of an unrecognisable globalised planet.

They might become coders, but they might also be data analysts, teachers, social media collaborators, CEOs, lawyers or activists. They’ll work in fields that don’t even exist yet! And they’ll need to know how technology works.

Coding and digital skills are fundamental for our changing future. By learning how to code, young people are building digital literacy skills for a changing world. They’re also developing valuable soft skills including logic, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication.

Starting a Code Club in your community brings these skills to everyone!

Your personal gain

By starting or joining a Code Club, you’re part of an international network of 13,000 clubs and over 180,000 young people.

As a school or library that hosts a Code Club you will build community ties, empower both adults and kids in your area with valuable digital skills and create a powerful meeting place to build community engagement and connection.

As a volunteer , you’ll build skills alongside the kids you work with. You’ll gain coding skills, as well as important soft skills like public speaking, confidence and communication.

What’s involved

Getting started with Code Club takes only three easy steps:

• Getting your clearance - every volunteer must have a valid Working with Children Check . Find your states application process here .
• Organise with your venue - a venue could be a school or library - a place safe for kids to learn in a public space. Talk with your local venue about organising times, rooms and computers.
• Get started – Try one of the Code Club lessons here and you’re ready to go!

More questions? Read about one volunteer’s journey here .

Outcome to community

Communities need problem solvers and citizens who keep pace with technology given it is now in almost every aspect of our lives.

Code Club was established in Australia to increase digital inclusion through education. A lack of digital skills contributes to potential exclusion from economic, social and digital opportunities, and this skills-gap is heavily weighted against those who are already excluded. (Read more about the Australian Digital Inclusion Index here )

Community Code Clubs are safe places where all kids can develop both the technical and soft skills needed for jobs of the future for free, leading to increased employability, decreasing the gender tech gap and allowing for the potential economic growth of your area.

By 2030, there will be a significant increase in the need for problem solving, critical thinking, science, maths and communication skills in future jobs. (The Foundation for Young Australians New Work Smarts 2017 ). Future workers will spend more time communicating data and coding requirements, requiring both digital and soft skills.

Code Clubs are spaces of inclusion and learning. We aim to minimise all barriers of participation by building spaces that enable anyone to teach digital skills. All our lessons are gender-neutral, device neutral, and available offline in multiple languages.

Code Club Australia powers positive change by giving kids all over Australia the opportunity to create, not just observe, their digital world.

All we need is you.