London’s demand for emerging tech skills could create a North–South divide
London has more demand for those with emerging technology skills than ten other UK cities combined, new research has found.
The UK currently has 422,000 professionals with skills in emerging technologies including data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing.
Of those professionals, 37 per cent (155,000) are based in London, according to research by Accenture.
Some 64,000 of the 162,000 currently listed vacancies that require emerging technology skills were being advertised in the capital.
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The report warns of the risk of a North-South divide in the location of technological talent emerging.
“London is currently the default choice for many,” said Accenture Technology head Zahra Bahrololoumi. But “the capital is far from the only option”, she added.
Despite London’s dominance, the report highlighted a number of regional hubs where specific tech talent is concentrated.
Cambridge was found to have the second largest pool of AI talent in the country, while 13 per cent of Brighton’s technology professionals work in extended reality. Edinburgh, Birmingham, and Newcastle were all found to have significant pools of data analytics professionals.
“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,” Bahrololoumi said.
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