Technology, media and telecoms (TMT) contractors are needed to meet talent and skills shortages and so ensure that London remains competitive and a leading global digital hub. This is according to a new report by Deloitte, tech firms EMC2 and Intel, and business membership organisation London First, London: Enabling a world leading digital hub.
The report also highlights that London needs closer links between universities and tech firms, new sources of growth finance to help new TMT businesses grow and a more robust IT infrastructure to maintain its world-leading position.
“Some of the challenges [new businesses] face are common to most young business sectors but there are specific elements, such as access to talent and the resilience of the city’s IT infrastructure, that are particularly pertinent,” explains John Dickie, London First’s director of policy and strategy.
“These need to be addressed if the government is serious about making London the European rival to Silicon Valley,” he adds.
EMC2’s vice president and managing director for the UK and Ireland James Petter agrees: “While London is well-placed to exploit its status, resources and diversity, there is no guarantee it will achieve its ambitions and there are specific challenges around skills and finance.”
The report demonstrates the importance of the TMT sector to the UK’s economic prosperity:
- Nearly half of all UK media jobs are in London
- The wider TMT sector employs over 440,000 people in the city
- 20% of UK technology development and 21% of telecoms jobs are in London
- TMT activity contributes £125bn a year to London and the rest of the UK
- The TMT sector accounts for 8% of the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP).
London’s Tech City, at the heart of the TMT sector, is already a large consumer of contractor and freelancer services. Research by Cranfield School of Management has shown that flexible knowledge workers underpin innovation and growth.
Contractors have a key role to play in maintaining London, and the UK’s, position at the heart of the global digital economy.