Liverpool is home to a growing AI talent pool, new research from consultancy giant Accenture has shown.
The firm鈥檚 latest 海角视频 Tech Talent Tracker shows demand for AI jobs has risen by some 49% in the last six months, according to an analysis of LinkedIn鈥檚 Professional Network data.
The study showed the biggest increases in tech jobs outside London were seen in Cardiff (29%), Glasgow (27%), Liverpool (26%), and Oxford (25%). And it said the AI talent pool in Liverpool rose by 109%, ahead of Cardiff at 98%.
Meanwhile there has also been growing demand for skills in areas around ethics in tech and AI.. The tracker shows open roles in digital ethics and responsibility has increased by 45%, with the pool of these professionals also increasing by 12%.
Andrew Finlayson, North West lead for Accenture, said, 鈥淟iverpool鈥檚 technology sector has been on the ascendancy for some time, and these findings are a positive sign that we are seeing the impact of learning and upskilling in critical skills. With every business needing technology skills to take their organisation into a future realigned by AI, it鈥檚 vital to close the regional digital skills gap in the 海角视频. Liverpool is well placed to be a leading light in AI excellence. In the city, and wider region, we must capture this hunger for AI, and nurture talent so the 海角视频 can compete on a global scale.鈥
Accenture鈥檚 research showed the overall number of open technology roles in the 海角视频 had not yet returned to the growth levels seen during the pandemic, when the tracker recorded a peak in vacancies in July 2022.
In the last six months demand rose for roles in extended reality (34%) but remained largely flat for vacancies in cyber security (3%) and data analytics (2%).
Overall, the technology talent pool rose by 11% in the last six months, with the LinkedIn data showing more people promoting skills in areas including AI, cloud engineering and quantum computing.
Emma Kendrew, Accenture鈥檚 technology lead in the 海角视频 & Ireland, said, 鈥淲hile British businesses remain cautious in a challenging macro-economic environment and are focused on their resilience, there are signs we are seeing a resurgence in demand for talent to make their AI ambitions a reality. An AI revolution can鈥檛 happen without people to build on a company鈥檚 digital foundations. It will take more than a nation of software engineers to get right 鈥 it means developing design, engineering, linguistics, and data science talent across the country, as well as improving the digital literacy for all British workers.鈥
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