London tech sector to add 46,000 new jobs by 2024
LONDON’S digital tech economy is growing at a rate of 5.1 per cent annually and is set to contribute an additional £12bn to the overall economy over the next decade, mayor Boris Johnson will announce today marking the start of London Tech Week.
The tech sector is also set to create 46,000 new jobs in the fields of computing programming and consultancy in the capital, according to research by Oxford Economics.
“Tech Week is a superb opportunity to hail the success of London’s tech sector, which despite only being in adolescence already makes a tremendous contribution to our economy and is outperforming our rivals around the globe,” said Johnson.
“We forecast that [it] will generate a whopping £12bn of economic activity and 46,000 new jobs in the capital over the next decade.”
This morning Johnson will speak at the launch of London Tech Week, which will run over 200 events in the capital this week, alongside former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sequoia Capital chairman Sir Michael Moritz and Tech City UK chair Joanna Shields.
“Ten years ago, no one thought of New York or London as a competitor to Silicon Valley – but today, more and more tech companies are looking to our cities as places to launch and grow, because they offer such diversity, creative talent, and high quality of life,” said Bloomberg.
Yesterday eight major tech firms, including Microsoft, Virgin Media and Capgemini, marked the start of London Tech Week by pledging to take on nearly 2,000 new apprentices in London by 2016.
Tech sector growth isn’t just limited to the capital, South Mountain Economics and Bloomberg Philanthropies released a report today showing that the tech sector in the southeast and east England – including London, Oxford and Cambridge – is growing faster than California, and London employs more workers in financial technology than New York.