Technology jobs are among the fastest-growing — and best-paying — jobs in the United States. But, incredibly, 9 out of 10 schools throughout the country do not offer computer science or coding courses.

In New York City, there are roughly 300,000 tech jobs paying a total of $30 billion in wages a year. Yet the home of Silicon Alley has been no better at preparing students for these highly desirable and competitive careers.

Fewer than 10 percent of our schools offer computer science. And in 2014, the New York City public school students who took the AP computer science test were not representative of our diverse student body: only 29.4 percent were girls; 6.4 percent were African-American; and 12.5 percent were Hispanic.

Computer Science for All, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recently announced initiative, holds promise to remedy that shortfall in New York City. The $80 million program is supported in part by the New York City Foundation for Computer Science Education, the Robin Hood Foundation and the AOL Charitable Foundation.

The mayor sets out an ambitious agenda: the Department of Education will train nearly 5,000 teachers in computer science over the next 10 years so that all schools will offer computer science education in K–12 grades by 2025. The city is wisely expanding existing programs, such as the Software Engineering Program and the AP computer science course. And those computer science educators already teaching in our schools will be involved in creating an instructional guide that can be used throughout the city.

Schools will have the power to implement computer science education in a way that reflects their needs and vision. It can be offered as a semester course, a multi-year sequence or incorporated into other subjects such as science, math and art.

U.S. universities are expected to produce enough qualified graduates to fill only 29 percent of the 1.4 million tech jobs that the U.S. Department of Labor has forecast will be available by 2020. Computer Science for All will put our students on track to reap the benefits of the industry’s growth.