Manchester has been named the second most attractive city in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ for tech investment.
That’s according to data from the Office of National Statistics, Tech Nation and job search engine Adzuna, which showed venture capital investment reached $687.6m in 2019, up from $199.1m in 2018.
The new ranking sees the city overtake Cambridge, home to a large cluster of high-tech businesses, for the first time, making Manchester second only to London.
Digital Minister Caroline Dinenage said Manchester’s “tech star has been rising for the past few years†and the success of e-commerce giant The Hut Group, which floated on the London Stock Exchange in September, “has helped to cement the city’s reputation as an industry hub to rival the capitalâ€.Â
The Hut Group is the company seeking the most new recruits in the region, followed by TalkTalk and Sage, data showed, with the most in-demand job in the city being software developers, NET developers and front-end developers.
The digital tech sector in Manchester employed more than 100,000 people in 2019 according to the data, and there are 4,235 open tech vacancies across the city region. Some 3,690 IT vacancies are from across the city alone.
Ms Dinenage said: “These new figures show it is creating new jobs and opportunities, and I am delighted that some of the country’s leading tech talent are coming together to discuss how we can help further strengthen the º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s reputation as Europe’s leading tech player.â€
Safe Hammad, CTO and Co-Founder of business Arctic Shores, provider of behaviour-based psychometrics, said Manchester has “transformed into a thriving technology hub†over the past 10 year.
“Arctic Shores chose to headquarter in Manchester to take advantage of great access to talent, and for Manchester’s unwavering “can do†attitude that’s so important for businesses in their early stages of growth.â€
Meanwhile, Michael Brennan, CEO at tootoot and Stribe, said he was attracted to Manchester for its HQ because of “strong networks and excellent talent in the cityâ€.
“We’ve had tremendous support from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and local councils in the work we’re doing with tootoot to give children and young people a voice,†he said.
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“As we look to expand over the next year, I couldn’t imagine being in a better place.â€
According to Adzuna, the average IT salary in the city is £49,765, which is some £12,000 more than the average salary across the city, £37,197.
Data architects are among the best-paid workers in the city, having seen average salaries for this role increase 17.5% in 2019 to £80,567.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder at Adzuna, said: “We’re seeing demand for tech jobs surging across Manchester with high salary offers to entice skilled workers from across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ. As the country looks to move forward from Covid-19, attracting the right talent will become even more competitive.â€
The figures on Manchester’s tech sector are published as the Government’s Digital Economy Council and Tech Nation host a digital roundtable today (November 4) to discuss the challenges facing the tech sector amid the coronavirus pandemic.Â
