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BCS part of £40m skills gap initiative announced by Prime Minister

BCS is delighted to be part of the consortium behind the Institute of Coding, which was announced by the Prime Minister in Davos recently. The consortium comprises more than 25 universities, businesses and industry experts, and aims to develop the next generation of digital specialists in order to plug the UK's digital skills gap.

The Institute of Coding which will be funded by £20m of government money, match-funded by another £20m in cash or kind from business, will be a key part of the government’s efforts to drive up digital skills through its Industrial Strategy.

Other members of the consortium include IBM, Cisco, BT and Microsoft, SMEs, 25 universities, and professional bodies such as CREST.

The 25 universities involved, led by the University of Bath, range from sector leaders in business and computer science (UCL and Newcastle University) to experts in arts and design (University of the Arts) to specialists in widening participation and outreach (Open University and Birkbeck, University of London).

Julia Adamson, Director of Education at BCS says: "As a world-leader in the tech sector, we need to ensure that we have a pipeline of young people with the necessary advanced digital skills to help shape our country’s future. This consortium means that all the main parties; universities, employers and industry leaders can ensure that our graduates have the opportunity to develop the right skills and knowledge needed to ensure that we have a competitive edge in areas such as AI, cybersecurity and industrial design.

"Importantly, the Institute of Coding also aims to encourage more women into the digital sector, and help provide access to a wider and more diverse workforce, thus ensuring that our future tech needs are fully representative of our society as a whole."

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Channel website: http://www.bcs.org/

Original article link: http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/59002

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