Coding is one of the hottest skills to add to your CV at the moment.

But, according to a report by Tech Nation, over 50 per cent of the UK’s digital tech businesses say they are facing a shortage of skilled workers.

This is why the UK government has launched a new Institute of Coding, a consortium of 25 universities and 60 businesses, who want to develop the next generation of tech talent.

The new £40 million institute is made up of a £20 million investment from the UK government, funded through the Office of Students, alongside another £20 million from partners.

The IoC will work by providing specialist skills training in different formats such as degrees, degrees apprenticeships, short courses and continuing professional development. This will make the institute’s courses more accessible, to ensure that it’s not just those in traditional education that have the chance to upskill.

In addition, the institute pledges to encourage and support groups who are underrepresented in the tech sector. In the UK, women make up only 17 per cent of the tech industry, a problem that desperately needs solving as the industry continues to grow.

According to Nicola Dandridge, the chief executive of the Office for Students, groups such as female school leavers and women returners will be supported at the institute.

Dr Rachid Hourizi, the new institute’s director, said: “We have a clear commitment to tackling the digital skills shortfall by making it easier for students, people at work and potential learners that we have not previously reached to access higher education and improve their technical abilities.

“We believe every person, whatever their background, deserves the opportunity to improve their digital skillsets through flexible learning convenient to their needs, whether that be face-to-face or online, full or part-time and as a stand-alone activity or part of an existing job,” he added.

In the past few years, there has been a real emphasis on providing the opportunities for people to learn how to code so they can take part in the digital revolution. Recently, the fintech Revolut launched a series of free coding classes for women to diversify its developers.

"While a lot of tech companies talk a good game about how important gender balance is to them, we've identified our own imbalance within our engineering teams and are taking action ourselves to help tackle this issue,” Revolut’s CEO and co-founder, Nik Storonsky, told the Standard.

As well, the US coding school Flatiron, where model Karlie Kloss learnt to code, launched its first international school in London last week.

At the time, Martin Ewings, director of specialist markets at Experis, told the Standard that it’s vital the future workforce is provided with the right education to learn these skills.

“Specialist coding schools, like Flatiron, play a crucial role in ensuring that the labour market evolves alongside the skills demand,” he said.

That there are so many new initiatives aiming to skill up the UK’s current and future workforce is good news for the tech industry.

Speaking about the launch of the IoC, the president of Tech UK, Jacqueline de Rojas, said: “With UK business leaders crying out for employees with the latest IT skills, the IoC is already helping companies to develop the technical capabilities of workers across the country.

"Serving as a bridge between industry and academia, this organisation will enable companies to build workforces fit for the future, by offering the opportunity to benefit from high-quality learning to everyone.”