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| CURRENT SECTION :: Jobs | UK's most visited IT Contractor Site - 250k unique visitors March 2008 |
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Job seekers eyeing IT work at growing organisations or tech start-ups are more likely to find their role in the North than in any other part of the country. So suggests new figures seen by ReThink Recruitment, which show that the North of England’s IT sector is growing three times as fast as London’s in the South. Explaining the growth, the IT jobs agency said the Northern regions offer tangible cost savings, while a wider supply of IT skills makes securing them less expensive. “It makes sense for everything from premises, car parks, staff wages and support services,” said Andy Lord, a director at ReThink Recruitment. “This has led not only to new businesses establishing their offices in the North, but also bigger London businesses establishing branches.” “Furthermore, demand has not yet outstripped skilled supply, with qualified and experienced personnel readily available. This makes salaries lower than in London, and thus more commercially viable for entrepreneurial new businesses.” The agency pointed to Office of National Statistics data showing total turnover for IT firms in the North leapt in the last five years from £4.7bn to £7.7bn, representing an almost 65% increase. London, by contrast, has seen the industry’s total turnover rise over the same period from £11.2bn to £14bn, meaning its growth rate of a mediocre 19.5% is lagging the North’s. But the capital hasn’t lost out as badly as the East of England, where growth to the IT sector’s turnover has run into the red, having shrunk 3.2% in recent years. “This is surprising,” Mr Lord said. “You would expect that research and development conducted at the University of Cambridge, as well as the constant flow of bright graduates, would attract the IT industry to the area.” “However, the prohibitive housing costs in the area could be one explanation and despite Cambridge’s strength in physical materials development, it is lacking in creative software industries and cannot compete with the London 2.0 internet media scene.” Mar 10, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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