File photo - The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York, Sept. 20, 2012. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)
Apple is opening its first European iOS App Development Center in Italy.
Based at an unnamed partner institute in Naples, the new program will churn out the next generation of iOS developers. A specialized curriculum will build "practical skills and training" and prepare "thousands of future developers" to be part of Cupertino's community, Apple says.
"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," CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
Apple says it currently supports more than 1.4 million jobs in Europe—1.2 million of which are app creators, software engineers, and other entrepreneurs. In Italy alone, more than 75,000 jobs are attributed to the App Store.
And while rival Google Play continues to hold the No. 1 position as the top app store in 2015 (in terms of download numbers), developers are making more money on Apple's platform, analytics firm App Annie reported this week. Last month, Apple announced it had doled out $40 billion to developers since the App Store's inception.
Most of that cash comes from games, which accounted for 75 percent of revenue on the iTunes App Store last year. Moving forward, TV and wearables will likely be the next frontier in apps.
Cupertino intends to expand this program to other countries around the world, but did not elaborate. According to VentureBeat, Apple operates one other iOS App Development center in Brazil.
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