Gov’s £20m Institute of Coding helps almost 6000 people onto tech courses in first year

The Institute of Coding (IoC) has signed nearly 6,000 people onto tech courses with universities across the country in its first 12 months.

The £20m initiative has helped 5,875 people enroll onto university courses since formally launching in January 2018 with the aim of tackling the UK’s digital skills gap.

To date, 35 IoC-supported courses have been created and 51 people – representing industry, academia and diversity – appointed to sit on the various IoC boards and steer its work.

IoC director Rachid Hourizi said: “The Institute of Coding is dedicated to driving digital skills and widening access to high quality learning to thousands of people from all walks of life.

“After a year of hard work and determination, we’ve made huge progress in tackling the skills shortfall, but there is still much more to do.”

He continued: “It’s vital that industry works closer with the IoC and our academic partners to design and build new courses for graduates and existing employees, spreading opportunity and upskilling workforces across the country.”

Through the Future Projects Fund, funded by the Office for Students, the IoC is set to allocate £2.3m to further proposals from industry and academia for filling the digital skills gap and supporting the ongoing work of the IoC.