Demand for technology talent increases around the country, according to the latest UK Tech Talent Tracker from Accenture.
The pool of technology talent in cities in the North of England has grown on average by 15 percent in the last year, outpacing southern cities that grew on average at 9 percent. Technology talent in cities across Scotland and Wales has grown on average by 5 percent and 9 percent respectively.
The highest level of growth can be seen in Manchester, at 25 percent. This was originally driven by a 93 percent increase in the number of cyber security professionals now based in the city.
Liverpool saw the biggest increase in people with blockchain skills (48%) and Newcastle saw a jump in artificial intelligence professionals (up 40%) over the past 12 months.
London sees first decline in technology since the start of the pandemic
Interestingly, the demand for technology professionals has increased in every region across the U.K from last year, as the U.K.’s technology jobs market continues to recover from the pandemic.
However, there is sizeable potential for cities outside of the capital to become technology hubs in the future, with growth in demand increasing in Manchester (234%), Birmingham (385%) and Oxford (264%).
“It’s been a remarkable period of demand for technology talent in cities outside the capital. A change in lifestyles and greater flexibility has allowed businesses across the country to discover exciting new pools of technology talent,” says North East Operations Lead for Accenture, Allan King.
The capital reported just 2 percent growth in overall technology talent over the year. While London contains the most technology professionals in the U.K, the findings show the number of people with technology skills in London declined by 6% in the last six months – the first time the capital has seen a dip since the start of the pandemic.”
“Many organisations have invested in technology during the pandemic and will continue looking for professionals to help them embrace the next wave of change with more emerging technologies, such as cloud, extended reality, AI and quantum computing, and rapidly emerging trends such as the metaverse,” says King.
The technology sector can rebalance the British economy
“The technology sector has a vital role to play in rebalancing the British economy and it’s extremely encouraging to see the spread of technology skills as the job market bounces back from the pandemic,” says Accenture’s Technology Lead in the UK & Ireland, Shaheen Sayed.
“With more robotics and AI fuelling our industries, new technology and software engineering skills are required in every corner of the country. London’s dominance as a centre of technology talent remains, but with growth in skills no longer being so concentrated in the South, it does indicate we are edging closer to closing the technology skills gap that has been historically prevalent in the U.K,” says Sayed.
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
