Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO Jeff Wilke stressed the importance of computer science education in public schools at the GeekWire Summit Tuesday. Today, he’s putting his money where his mouth is.
In a blog post on Amazon.com, Wilke announced that over the next five years, the company will donate $10 million to Code.org, a non-profit that advocates for K-12 STEM education.
Proud that @Amazon is pledging $10 million to @codeorg to expand access to CS education – wonderful organization https://t.co/x51jVYbZZY
— Jeff Wilke (@jeffawilke) October 11, 2017
“Providing opportunities for a more diverse set of students to learn to code will help broaden the talent pipeline and drive future innovation,” Wilke said in the blog post.
Increasing the tech talent pool is a high priority for Amazon and other big tech companies, which face a shortage of labor with skills relevant to the industry. It’s also a priority as Amazon searches for a city to open a second, “fully equal” corporate headquarters in North America.
“I hope we choose a city that has been focused on STEM education, particularly in computer science in the public high schools and middle schools in the area,” Wilke said on stage at the GeekWire Summit Tuesday. “I think it’s incredibly important.”