Much has been written in the popular press recently about the need to get Britain making things again. Design, manufacturing and engineering are vital to the growth of a new style economy that (without getting all political) can help address balance of trade. However, I think we shouldn't overlook the value of the digital economy and in particular how programming should be encouraged alongside traditional manufacturing.

I was lucky to get involved in programming at a very young age and through my Dad I got access to a Commodore PET, VIC-20 and other early computers. Like many kids of this time, I tirelessly typed in lines of computer code copied from magazines, learning programming skills that would later shape my professional career.

25 years later, the computer landscape has changed beyond all recognition. The games console has replaced the Amiga, Spectrum ZX and Commodore that my generation used to learn programming. The ICT curriculum emphases lessons in Word and Excel rather than computing fundamentals so perhaps its no surprise that programming is increasingly seen as a 'magic dark art'. This should not be the case.

Programming might not be for everybody but we should encourage it, just as we should encourage kids to get involved in manufacturing and engineering. So, I'm going to do my best in 2012 to support getting more people programming and pass on some of my skills to the next generation.

Learning programming can be magic and if you want to get started then check out www.codeyear.com to get a new interactive programming lesson sent to you each week.

Update: Education Secretary, Michael Gove announces that School ICT to be replaced by new core Computer Science programme. BBC, 11th January 2012