Millennials emerge as the most coding-enthused generation

Four million UK adults have taken up coding as a result of lockdown, a new study presumes. Many more wish they had started coding as a hobby during the pandemic.

The UK celebrates National Coding Week in an effort to close the well-renowned digital skills gap. The International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2 estimates that there’s a total of 4 million cyber professionals shortage in the public and private sectors worldwide.

A survey from WorldSkills UK found that 60% of businesses believe their reliance on advanced digital skills is set to increase over the next five years. However, 37% say their current workforce lacks the advanced digital skills they need.

But there might be a silver lining to this.

As people were forced to spend more time at home, many turned to new activities, such as coding.

A survey commissioned by Zen Internet revealed that the UK saw a surge in coding enthusiasts since the first lockdown in March 2020. It presumes that four million people (6%) UK adults have taken up coding. Another 6% of adults wish they had explored it as a hobby.

The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,149 UK adults. The survey is representative, meaning that it seeks to reflect the characteristics of the larger group accurately.

Millennials (25-34-year-olds) emerged as the most coding enthused generation, with 13% taking it up during lockdown. They slightly edged their younger Gen Z (16-24-year-olds) counterparts in the coding battle - 12% of Gen Z claimed to have started learning coding as a result of the pandemic.

“However, there was a slightly bigger gap when it came to regrets with one in seven (15%) millennials wishing they had taken up the hobby versus one in nine (11%) from the Gen Z camp,” Zen Internet claimed.

When broken down regionally, Manchester is the city filled with the most regrets, with one in eight (13%) revealing with the benefit of hindsight that they wish they had given coding a go. Whereas Leicester could stake a claim as the coding capital of the UK, with one in seven (14%) taking up the hobby in the city.

“It’s exciting to see such enthusiasm to take up something that plays a key role in the digital-first world we now find ourselves in,” Paul Stobart, CEO at Zen Internet, is quoted in a press release. “Coding underpins so much of what we do in the online world, from our computer systems to our digital infrastructure and everything in between. Those that used their lockdown time wisely to learn new skills such as coding will find their enhanced competency in this digital world will hold them in good stead.”