<strong>From staff reports</strong>

SC Codes, a statewide program aimed at providing free access to code education, has launched a new online programming course titled “React Applications.” It’s one of many free courses available on the SC Codes platform aimed at helping upskill the workforce and fill the void of unfilled technology jobs in South Carolina.

According to CompTIA, employment in the tech industry in S.C. expanded by more than 5,000 jobs in 2019 and the tech sector represents 6 percent of our state’s economy. Additionally there were more than 34,000 tech job postings during 2019 bringing the current tech employment numbers in S.C. to just more than 130,000.

The React Applications course was created as the platform’s first intermediate-level course, meant to teach students the basics of the React framework through hands-on experience with projects. With guidance from our mentors, students will also begin building their portfolio during the React Applications course, which will ultimately provide them the opportunity to showcase their skills to employers.

“React is an extremely popular JavaScript framework, and one that is being used by more and more tech companies throughout the state and nation” said program director Kaity Miller. “We are confident that this course will prepare students for the workforce and we couldn’t be more excited to be offering this to all South Carolina residents.

The React Applications course will cover an introduction and brief history of React; building single-page apps; how to style React components; data management with Redux; automated testing with Jest; and challenges and hands-on projects to reinforce understanding.

SC Codes, a platform powered by the S.C. Department of Commerce Office of Innovation, was launched in September 2018. The platform allows for 24/7 access to free online curriculum for any interested resident. For more information, visit sccodes.org.