Tech Job Trend in the UK: A Roller‑Coaster Ride
Accenture’s latest UK Tech Talent Tracker shows that the tech job market in the United Kingdom has taken a bit of a nosedive over the past year – 57% fewer listings overall, with less than 55,000 advertised positions.
Why the slump?
The dip is largely tied to a sharp drop in roles for 53% in data analytics and 54% in cyber security, according to the LinkedIn data powering the tracker.
Silver Linings: The Cloud, AI & Robotics Boom
- Cloud computing tops the list, with about 35,000 jobs on the market. The boom is a win‑win: companies are still riding the remote‑work wave and are keen to migrate everything to the cloud.
- AI expertise is shooting up, a staggering 73% jump in just six months, piling up to roughly 6,800 listings.
- Robotics positions are up almost two‑thirds, now over 3,000 roles.
- Specialist fields such as blockchain and quantum computing are also heating up, with increases of 50% and 46%, respectively.
Expert Insight
“Even though the pandemic has crunched the overall tech job numbers, certain skills are still hot on the market,” says Shaheen Sayed, Accenture’s Technology Lead for the UK and Ireland. “Businesses are sprinting to cloud‑jump and digitalise, fastening the engines on AI and robotics. The result? Experienced professionals are sharpening new skills to stay ahead, and having the right talent is a must for bouncing back and driving growth.”
In short: the tech hiring landscape may be shrinking, but the appetite for cloud, AI, and robotics talent is still fiercer than ever.
Robotics jobs boost in Northern England
North UK’s Robot‑Ready Boom
Since last July, the demand for robot‑savvy talent in some of Britain’s northern heartlands has taken off like a lev‑t at a robotics expo. In Liverpool the surge is a solid 115%, Leeds is blasting ahead with 253%, and Newcastle is literally 450% — that’s 4.5 times the pre‑pandemic pace.
London Still Dominates the Tech Scene
A whopping 41% of all technology job listings are looking for local experts, and over 420,000 tech gurus (≈⅓ of the UK’s tech workforce) still call London home. Even with the whole “remote‑work‑now‑is‑the‑new‑normal” mantra, London keeps pulling in the talent.
Manchester is close behind, hosting around 27,000 tech pros — roughly one‑fifteenth of London’s quantity.
Catching Up with Quantum & AI Hotspots
The AI arena is also heating up in places beyond London. Cambridge remains the top AI hub outside the capital, buzzing with more than 3,000 AI specialists. Yet the boom is stirring elsewhere:
- Leeds – AI portal postings have 102% doubled.
- Edinburgh – up by 96%.
- Manchester – a close‑call with 92%.
Key Takeaway
In a nutshell, while London still steals the spotlight, northern cities are strutting their way into the tech spotlight, especially in robotics, quantum, and AI. Whether you’re a robot wizard or a quantum dreamer, there’s plenty of fresh gigs to chase past the Thames.
Skills up across the board
UK Tech Pros Are Going Broader Than You Think
Heads up! The UK’s professional tech scene is expanding faster than a coffee shop on a Monday morning. LinkedIn reports a 22% jump in skill listings for January versus last year, which means over one million UK citizens are flaunting at least one tech skill on their profiles.
Robotics Engineers in the North: The Fresh Frontier
“The uptick in demand for robotics engineers across northern England shows our industrial sector is gunning to innovate its path to recovery,” remarks Allan King, Managing Director of Accenture’s UK Advanced Technology Centre in Newcastle.
- Robotics: the new “cool” industry in the north.
- Engineering talent is driving the region’s comeback.
- More tech skills = more resilient local economies.
The London‑Centric Reality Check
Despite the global shift to remote work, tech job openings are still piling up in London. This imbalance could skew the recovery we’re hoping for post‑pandemic.
- Remote work hasn’t yet spread tech talent evenly.
- London remains the magnet for tech roles.
- Missed chances to diversify hiring across the UK.
The Silver Lining: A Vivid Talent Pool
With over a million tech‑savvy professionals scattered across the UK, the odds of tapping into a diverse geographic talent spot have never been better. It’s like having a buffet of skills just waiting to be served.
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