A new report has revealed the UK’s 17 fastest growing cities for tech and digital jobs, and surprisingly – the top spot doesn’t go to London.

Taking the capital’s crown is Bournemouth and Poole, an area which saw an incredible increase in technology jobs of 212% between 2014 and 2015. Inner London still saw growth during this same period, but the pace was considerably slower with just 92% growth reported.

The major areas of growth for Bournemouth and Poole were found to be advertising and marketing, e-commerce and games development. In inner London, the main employers were those concerned with lead generation, data management and analytics and financial technology (also known as Fintech).

Growth across the UK

The report, Enabling Growth Across the UK, was compiled by financial and professional services membership body TheCityUK. Its researchers demonstrated that while London remains by far the sector’s biggest employer and accounts for over a third of all the UK’s tech jobs, new technology hubs are emerging all over the country.

Other high-performing major cities included in the report included:

• Liverpool – which saw growth of 119% in its number of tech jobs
• Brighton and Hove – growth of 91%
• South Wales – growth of 87%
• Belfast – growth of 73%
• Greater Manchester – growth of 70%
• Bristol and Bath – growth of 65%
• Birmingham – growth of 51%

There were also some cities where growth in tech and digital recruitment was much slower. Leeds saw growth of just 7% in 2014 to 2015, while growth in Reading was just 5% and in Glasgow just 2%.

The report comments on these changes and on the health of the tech industry in general, explaining:

“It is clear that technology is changing the capabilities needed for the UK to remain competitive in financial and related professional services. New skills areas such as digital technology, ‘Big Data’, machine learning and telematics are moving towards the forefront of the industry. The UK has the potential to become a dynamic technology centre across the financial and related professional services industry.”

Financial services

In addition to tech jobs, TheCityUK report also focused its attention on the financial services industry. It found that 21 towns and cities across the country now have over 10,000 people working in financial services jobs. Some companies, such as HSBC as a notable example as it soon plans to move 1,000 jobs out of London to Birmingham, are leading the way in creating new opportunities outside of the capital. However, the report highlights that there is more work to be done and that regions have a golden opportunity to encourage finance firms to move thousands of jobs outside of London.

If you’re seeking the very best tech talent, SOLOS Recruitment Consultants are perfectly placed to help. We’re well known for attracting high quality candidates from all over the country as well as close to our Nottingham head office, so get in touch to discuss how we can help you.

 

 

image courtesy of Graphics Mouse @ freedigitalphotos.net