Educators in Australia are embracing Apple’s programming language Swift, as they find it to offer a combination of simplicity and complexity in terms of capabilities unmatched by any other language. Some of the best apps on iOS and iPadOS are completely written in Swift; as a result, it makes sense to teach students the new technologies rather than reverting to older languages such as C or C++. The director of Creative Arts and Digital Design at TAFE Queensland Jackie French commented:

“Developing in Swift blends creativity and coding to problem-solve in a way no other language can, giving our students the fundamental skills to create the world’s next transformative apps, from ideation to design, development, and distribution through the App Store. Demand from students and industry continues to grow, proving the need for a larger pipeline of graduates qualified to maximize today’s job opportunities and keep Queensland and Australia at the forefront of creativity and innovation.”

Swift is faster, efficient, and powerful

While it is important to learn C, C++, and Java – the older programming languages – for various job roles, the app market continues to grow at an unprecedented pace which requires that students be taught skills that they can quickly implement in real life. The older programming languages are not going to turn extinct anytime soon but newer, more powerful, and more efficient languages are taking over to keep pushing technologies to new levels. Paul Dionysius, who teaches technical courses at Siena Catholic College, noted:

“Our decision to choose Swift was clear and based on the simplicity, versatility, and limitless creativity the language provides. Every day we’re seeing our students develop enterprising ideas and designing real-world solutions to problems, building the essential skills for success in the 21st century.”

He concluded that they have future blockbuster developers here today and that he is certain of that and incredibly proud.