Apple constantly talks about how many jobs its created through the App Store, and it’s putting its money where its mouth is by creating Europe’s first iOS App Development Center in Italy — designed to give students the practical skills and training necessary to help them develop apps for the iPhone and iPad.
Located at a partner institution in Naples, the App Development Center will support teachers by providing a specialized curriculum focused on app development. Apple will also work with partners around Italy to deliver developer training to complement this curriculum and create additional opportunities for students.
The current plan is for Italy’s App Development Center to be a test run for a program which Apple will later expand to other countries around the world.
“Europe is home to some of the most creative developers in the world and we’re thrilled to be helping the next generation of entrepreneurs in Italy get the skills they need for success,” Tim Cook said in a statement. “The phenomenal success of the App Store is one of the driving forces behind the more than 1.4 million jobs Apple has created in Europe and presents unlimited opportunities for people of all ages and businesses of all sizes across the continent.”
According to Apple, its app ecosystem now supports more than 1.4 million jobs, including 1.2 million attributable to the community of app creators, software engineers and entrepreneurs building apps for iOS. In Italy alone, more than 75,000 jobs are attributable to the App Store.
The Italian location of Apple’s first European App Development Center is certainly interesting given that the company recently agreed to pay €318 million ($347 million) to settle a tax investigation there.
