Swift Certification Program Launches to Allow Schools to Validate Student Coding Skills

Apple has been working with schools and colleges around the world to provide Swift curriculum to students under its "Everyone Can Code" initiative, learning Apple's App Development with Swift curriculum.

To allow colleges and employers to confirm those skills, Certiport, a company that develops exam certifications, has worked with Apple to create an "App Development with Swift" academic certification program.

The new global certification system is available for secondary schools and higher education, and it has been built on Apple's Everyone Can Code program, with a specific focus on the year-long App Development with Swift course developed by engineers.

The App Development with Swift course is designed to allow students who have zero programming experience to build their own apps, and with the new certification program, instructors have a third-party validation tool and a "measurable outcome" for Swift programming classes.

"Earning an App Development with Swift certification will give students the confidence they need to further their programming education or move on to a career in programming," said Ray Murray, Vice President, Business Development, Pearson VUE. "Earning a certification endorsed by Apple shows that they have a solid grasp on the language and can apply it - today - to create innovative iOS applications. We expect this new certification to gain widespread adoption due to the popularity of the Swift programming language."

Students will be tested on their foundational skills with Swift, Xcode, Simulator, Interface Builder, Playgrounds, and other app development tools, and students who pass will earn a digital badge that can be added to a resume or portfolio.

Certiport plans to launch the App Development with Swift Certification exam in the fall of 2018 to allow the first students to obtain Swift certification.