Scotland’s economic prospects could be seriously damaged if computer coding is not made an educational priority, according to the host of an EU coding event in Brussels today.

Labour MEP for Scotland Catherine Stihler said: “There are particular challenges around teacher training and gender imbalance, which must be urgently addressed.”

Ms Stihler, co-founder of the European Parliament’s All-Party Library Group, made her comments as she hosted the Generation Code event in Brussels to mark EU Code Week.

More than 100,000 “digital tech economy” jobs already exist in Scotland and about 11,000 new positions are created every year. Ms Stihler acknowledged that digital skills had been introduced in the Scottish curriculum, but cautioned that “experts have repeatedly warned that more action is needed to train teachers in coding and encourage more girls to learn technology skills”, given that men make up about 80 per cent of the sector.

“Our world is moulded in code, and young people have an opportunity to bring ideas to life and build things that will bring joy to millions,” said Ms Stihler. “But while technology is shaping our lives, we’re letting a minority decide how we use it.”

She added: “There is no reason Scotland can’t be at the forefront of the coding revolution, just as the country is blazing a trail in the development of video games and financial technology.

“But to ensure we deliver economic growth, we need a workforce skilled in computer coding - and that starts in the classroom. If we fail to take action, we could miss out on that economic growth.”

Ms Stihler said that a number of councils had “already made coding part of the primary curriculum, but it needs to move up the agenda to become a priority”.

A Scottish government spokesman said: “We are working with local authorities, schools and employers to equip young people with the digital skills they need, including the computational thinking and technical skills required in software development and coding. 

“We have updated the curriculum to include digital skills and computing from early years onwards, and we promote extra-curricular development initiatives through Digital Xtra, which aims to widen access to computer-related activity - these include coding clubs for girls.”

He added: “We are addressing the shortage of Stem secondary teachers by providing £20,000 bursaries for career changers to train to teach certain Stem subjects, including computing. We are also working with local authorities and other key partners to ensure schools have access to connectivity, hardware and software.”