Clegg aims to double tech jobs with new body
THE Government has launched a new body called TechNorth to support technology-related businesses and attract inward investment.
It said it would bring together tech businesses based in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle and act as a “virtual hub” to rival Berlin, New York and Shanghai.
The move is in line with Chancellor George Osborne’s idea of a “Northern powerhouse” which seeks to encourage closer collaboration between Northern cities to foster economic activity.
In Greater Manchester the tech world straddles two sectors – creative, digital and media which has 6,000 businesses employing 70,000 people, and technology and communications which supports about 100,000 jobs. Last year media and creative contributed £1.1bn to Manchester’s economy while technology and communications was responsible for £1.9bn.
In Liverpool nearly 50,000 people are employed in digital and creative businesses, including gaming, music, digital media and design. Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg is in Sheffield today to launch TechNorth.
In a statement he said: “We’ve listened to local business leaders and there is a clear need for us to seize an opportunity to capitalise on existing tech talent by creating a Northern tech hub to rival Berlin, New York, or Shanghai. My ambition, over time, is to double the number of tech jobs in the North, creating a stronger economy.”
The Government believes TechNorth will but the region on the map, like the Tech City initiative in London, and create a critical mass by attracting large inward investors, “which would have a magnetising effect to attract spin off businesses and support supply chains”.
