diff --git a/src/pocl/compiler/compilation.jl b/src/pocl/compiler/compilation.jl
index 1a561b79..4b4a4fb4 100644
--- a/src/pocl/compiler/compilation.jl
+++ b/src/pocl/compiler/compilation.jl
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ end
 
 
     # create GPUCompiler objects
-    target = SPIRVCompilerTarget(; supports_fp16, supports_fp64, kwargs...)
+    target = SPIRVCompilerTarget(; supports_fp16, supports_fp64, validate = true, kwargs...)
     params = OpenCLCompilerParams()
     return CompilerConfig(target, params; kernel, name, always_inline)
 end