Mcr City Region: Skills key to meeting digital aspirations

ONE of the most important growth sectors for the Manchester city region is creative and digital.

MediaCityUK at Salford Quays – home to the BBC, ITV and dozens of smaller businesses – and its smaller urban cousin, Manchester’s The Sharp Project, are both proving to be magnets for national and international inward investment.

While the city region has bold ambitions to be seen as a top 20 digital city by 2020, and has made big strides in the last few years – it is the second largest
hub for digital and creative in Europe, after London, there is still concern over the availability of skilled employees.

Sue Woodward, director of The Sharp Project said: “Since the start of
Sharp I’ve been saying we need to raise the skill base we are still in the race with the Far East and the rest of Europe, but only just.

“The cities that invest the most in their skills base will accommodate that
growth. We can bring big companies in to Manchester but [in terms of skills] we are at bursting point – we are soaking-up the skill base already and there is a gap in the market. We are still not retaining enough talent
and are not acting fast enough to get a 12-year-old today skilled up by 18.

“In Estonia they teach code to kids of seven or eight while Korea and Singapore are able to churn people out with the requisite skills. We need a change at national government level – not just a tinkering around the edges.”

The dynamics of the creative and digital sector are explored in TheBusinessDesk.com’s 30-page Manchester City Region economic supplement, sponsored by Baker Tilly, MIDAS, law firm Pannone and Santander Corporate and Commercial Banking. Click here to download the PDF for free .