London is well-known to be the economic powerhouse of the UK. Most finance and tech companies settle in London and can easily reach EU destinations for business purposes via flight or train. The Financial Times reported that in 2017, London tech turnover exceeded £64 billion and employed more than 260,000 of the capital’s tech professionals. This was significantly more than any other UK location regarding tech jobs, but how is the landscape of the tech sphere today?
Tech Jobs in the Rest of the UK
It’s not just north of London where more tech jobs are becoming available. North of Hadrian’s Wall is also proving to be a tech mecca. Edinburgh and Glasgow are harnessing lots ore tech vacancies, which may be in part due to their local universities and courses focusing on tech-related fields.
South of the wall, Leeds, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Sheffield, and Manchester are all growing in the number of tech opportunities. Some of these opportunities come about because of London companies seeking cheaper running costs, while most of them stem from tech entrepreneurship and new tech startups.
For example, data revealed that 196 new tech startups were born in Sheffield last year, which was an increase of 6% and puts Sheffield in the top 20 locations for tech jobs right now. If you want to work for any of these companies, you can find tech opportunities by searching for jobs in Sheffield on JobRapido, a site that is dedicated to high-skilled industries.
But London Is Still on Top!
Despite the immediate challenges facing the UK economy, London remains the best location for tech professionals wanting to secure employment. The big tech boys are still in town and even though murmurs may exist about them uprooting, nothing has happened yet. Even in a situation where London tech companies started looking up the M1 or even overseas, it would take years for other UK cities to match the economic output of London in the tech industry.
The Most In-Demand Tech Workers of the Decade
One of the most exciting aspects of the tech industry around the globe is that it evolves much quicker than any other sector. A LinkedIn survey found that Blockchain development was the most in-demand tech skill right now, but that same skill was not even featured as an answer in the same poll just 12 months before.
For anyone wanting to work in tech in London or another UK city, it is advised to continue career development by upskilling with new technologies as they become widely available. Blockchain, Augmented Reality, 5G and virtual reality are the next cornerstone technologies that will hit the industry and create more jobs. Position yourself perfectly by diving into them now.
The bottom line? Moving to London for tech work is still a smart move.