The 2017 Tech Nation report was released last week by Tech City announcing the UK as the tech capital of Europe. The report discusses key findings relating to investment, talent, collaboration, growth, jobs and productivity.
The Prime Minister Theresa May introduced the report by saying; “Today more than 1.5 million people are already working within the digital sector, or in digital tech roles across other sectors, while the number of digital tech jobs across the UK has grown at more than twice the rate of non-digital tech sectors. From analysts to web developers to software architects, these pioneers of our digital economy are at the forefront of a great British success story.”
There are some interesting, insightful and encouraging findings, so we’ve picked out some of the highlights.
1) DIGITAL TECH INVESTMENT: In 2016 UK digital tech investment reached £6.8billion, that’s 50% higher than any other European country
2) DIGITAL TECH TALENT: The UK is home to 8 of Europe’s top 20 universities, more than any other European country
3) DIGITAL TECH COLLABORATION: London hosted 22,000 Meetups in 2016, that’s three times as many as in Berlin, Amsterdam or Paris
4) DIGITAL BUSINESS GROWTH: The turnover of digital tech businesses reached £170 billion, an increase of £30billion in just five years
5) DIGITAL TECH JOBS: There are now 1.64 million digital tech jobs in the UK, and the digital sector is creating jobs 2X faster than the non digital sector
6) REGIONAL TECH INVESTMENT: In 2016 regional clusters attracted £4.5billion+ in digital tech investment, reflecting a network of innovative excellence across the nation
7) DIGITAL TECH PRODUCTIVITY: The economic contribution of the UK digital tech worker is large and growing, almost twice as high as the non digital worker
Tech Nation – Regional Clusters
The regional clusters identified in the report show that 75% of tech businesses are outside of London. Clusters are divided into the south-east (Reading, Brighton, Oxford), the south-west (Bristol, Bath, Exeter), Birmingham and the Midlands, Wales (Cardiff & Swansea), Scotland, Belfast, East Of England (Cambridge, Norwich, Ipswich) and the north. Each of the clusters are unique in offering something special whether it’s access to great universities, regional specialisms, or tech hubs with opportunities for entrepreneurs. The 30 individual cities are outlined here.