A new report examining employment opportunities across emerging technologies, suggests the UK is moving towards a North-South divide.
Accenture has analysed 422,000 professionals with skills in artificial intelligence, data analytics, blockchain, extended reality and quantum computing.
Of these, 37% are located in London and that is set to rise, with 63k emerging tech jobs advertised in the capital. This figure is higher than the combined number of jobs available in 10 other UK cities, including Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Liverpool.
“London is currently the default choice for many, but we want to prove that the capital is far from the only option,” said Zahra Bahrololoumi, Head of Accenture Technology in the UK & Ireland.
“Availability of talent is one of the biggest factors in establishing a successful technology business. We’ve found that there’s so much of this talent in other cities, but it’s being overlooked. Once businesses realise the potential and bring more opportunities to people in other cities, we can create a tech economy that benefits the entire country, rather than just London.”
The research, which analysed LinkedIn’s Professional Network data also shows that, outside of London, both Manchester and Bristol have an existing supply of talent the sector. While Newcastle has a significant pool of data analytics professionals.
“The UK’s technology sector is currently growing one-and-a-half times faster than other industries, so there’s a huge opportunity to close the divide. We have ourselves set up many regional hubs, with Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh amongst the biggest. These findings should be a signal for both tech professionals and companies alike that there are exciting opportunities ahead,” added Chris Gray, Managing Director Accenture North West.
