Oracle has welcomed 122 teachers from across Europe to its Oracle Academy Instructor's Institute, for the pilot of the Academy's Java Curriculum.
Taking place at the Royal High School in Edinburgh, this week, the Oracle Academy Teacher Training Event prepares faculty to teach computer science, technology and business curriculum. The curriculum focuses on database design and SQL and PLSQL programming skills.
Teachers gain a certification at the end, after a written exam. If teachers decided to take the academy through a modular design online, they can embed this into their current curriculum. The teachers are taught by Oracle Academy instructors.
Participating teachers receive online training before the teacher training event. Depending on the course chosen, the initial online training can last between 8 to 10 weeks.
Teachers wishing to take database design need to have a science, maths or ICT qualification already. To take the Java curriculum, the teacher needs a background in computer science.
Jane Richardson, regional manager, Oracle Academy, EMEA said: "Teachers have come from all over Europe, including countries such as Belgium, Belarus and Slovakia."
According to e-Skills UK, IT employment through to 2020 is set to grow at almost twice the UK average. The most common technical skills requirements being SQL, C, C#, .Net and Java.
Richardson said interest in the Academy has grown by 14% across Europe since last year. Oracle has seen 3% growth in the UK alone.
"They are driven by the interest in the Java curriculum and the need to bring an industry relevant qualification in to the classroom," said Richardson.
"We expect to see further demand over the next two to three years, due to the new computer science curriculum coming into schools and replacing the current ICT lessons."
Thirty nine teachers from the course will also be accessing the Java programme and giving their feedback to Oracle.
"We are very proud of the teachers we are working with. They are giving up time in their summer holidays to take this knowledge back to their classrooms," said Richardson.
Launched in 1993, Oracle's Academies supports 1.5 million students in 95 countries.
