Coal Miners Are Learning Computer Programming

As Coal Country Struggles, Miners Find New Hope in Coding (+Podcast)

PRI and www.wnyc.org | August 10, 2016

General Electric's CEO announced that all new hires, whether or not they're working in tech, will now be required to know how to code. New York public schools are also introducing mandatory computer science classes into their curricula.
These initiatives seem to indicate that coding is the key to getting hired and the panacea to all employment problems, and as the needs of the U.S. job market shifts, people are putting that theory to the test.
Coal miners in particular have suffered the brunt of the changing job market. With 40 percent fewer jobs than in 2012, coal miners are seeking out second jobs to support their families, and many have turned to coding.

[Click to Enlarge] Source: http://www.minedminds.org/

"Software coders (from left) William Stevens, Michael Harrison and Brack Quillen work at the Bit Source office in Pikeville, Ky., in February. The year-old firm has trained laid-off coal workers to become software coders." Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/05/06/477033781/from-coal-to-code-a-new-path-for-laid-off-miners-in-kentucky

<more at http://www.wnyc.org/story/coding-answer-employment/; related articles and links: http://www.minedminds.org/ (Mined Minds. Software Development Training & Consultancy website) and http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/05/06/477033781/from-coal-to-code-a-new-path-for-laid-off-miners-in-kentucky (From Coal To Code: A New Path For Laid-Off Miners In Kentucky. May 6, 2016)>