Digital skills hub comes to London

The aim is to provide tomorrow's 'digital innovators' and coders with high level technical training, so that the UK can compete in the 'global race'. "This is all part of our long term economic plan for Britain – making sure our children have the skills they need to thrive and get on," said Prime Minister David Cameron. "And by sticking to it, we will lift our children horizons and pull our country up in the world." The college will start working with students in London next year before similar centres are established across the country. Other parts of Cameron's plan include a £67million initiative, covering the next five years, which will give extra maths and science training for 15,000 existing teachers and an additional 2,500 teachers. The extra training was announced as pupils visited Downing Street for a lesson in computer coding, as part of the international Hour of Code project. "It will take time but it's absolutely vital for the success of our country that we teach maths and science and computing in the modern way, because that will be one of the things that will determine whether we succeed or not," said Cameron. Speaking about the launch of the new National College for Digital Skills, Peter Finegold, head of education and skills at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), said: "It is encouraging that the government is prioritising science, maths and engineering. The Prime Minister is right to say that developing the right skills in the right sectors is crucial to creating a strong and balanced economy." Finegold warned, however, that more work needs to be done to improve the poor standards of careers advice on offer to most students. He also called for better links between schools and local industries. He continued: "Government also needs to seriously consider the possibility of providing subsidies for students pursuing degrees in business critical subjects like science and engineering and needs to put in place rigorous standards for apprentices to ensure they are in industries where there is a real potential for jobs, like engineering, and that standards are verified through accreditation by bodies such as the IMechE."