Over the last decade or so Manchester has emerged as a tech hotspot. It frequently ranks as one of the top tech hubs outside of London and the northern gem continues to go from strength to strength.
According to a Beauhurst report, Manchester is home to nearly 1,500 high-growth companies. The city’s greatest startup success stories include ecommerce giant The Hut Group (THG) and digital health firm Push Doctor.
Three other Greater Manchester unicorns include household electricals supplier AO.com, automotive marketplace AutoTrader as well as fashion retail behemoth Boohoo.com.
The city is also home to a plethora of big tech names and multinational firms, including the household names of Microsoft, IBM, Amazon, Booking.com, Meta, Intel and Google.
So, why are so many exciting startups and established businesses deciding to set up shop in Manchester? Well, there are a few reasons.
The BBC’s decision in the early 2000s to move jobs to the city helped to initially populate the MediaCity area of Salford Quays with creative individuals.
Now, it’s a thriving home to a wide variety of media, TV, tech, arts and web companies. KPMG reported in 2021 that 10,000 jobs in the area had been provided by MediaCity and the number of digital and creative businesses has increased by 70% since it was launched.
Educated professionals
There is an abundance of educated professionals here to do those jobs. According to Manchester Digital, the city has a population of over 500,000. Almost 40% of people are of working age and have an NVQ Level 4 or above qualification.
Manchester is also home to three world-class universities that help attract top talent to the region.
The city, along with Leeds, is an acknowledged fintech hub. The government’s 2021 Kalifa report declared it an “established cluster” and found it was home to around 135 fintechs, which is the highest number of companies outside of London.
Some 7% of fintech scaleups nationally have their headquarters in the Pennines region, and specialisms include lending, payments and regtech.
Manchester is also a vibrant, cosmopolitan place to live. The city has wonderful schools and great transport links, while the price of property and cost of living are also lower than many other cities in the UK.
The rise of remote working has also boosted Manchester’s tech hub credentials. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, many companies have been reassessing their office spaces.
Office rent in London is often one of a startup’s most expensive outgoings. Many tech and media companies have been downsizing or creating smaller, regional offices.
This phenomenon has become so popular that it is now called “north-shoring”. In recent years, companies such as BNY Mellon, Natwest, and Fitch Rating have benefited from establishing operations in Manchester.
So, if you’re looking for excellent job opportunities, a vibrant social scene, and a more affordable cost of living, maybe you should consider moving to “Warehouse City”.
Before you decide to take the plunge, research available job roles on the UKTN Job Board. New job opportunities in the Greater Manchester area are available all the time.
A tech job available in Manchester right now
One Manchester tech role that is available right now is desktop analyst at AQA (previously known as the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance). It is the awarding body in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland in charge of examinations such as GCSEs, A-levels, and other qualifications.
The desktop analyst will join AQA’s Manchester office. The successful candidate will have an opportunity to play a significant role in formulating and shaping the way AQA manages a modern Microsoft Desktop environment.
The role is hybrid (up to three days per week working from home) and comes with a generous pension scheme and 25 days of annual leave allowance plus bank holidays.
To apply, you’ll need a good knowledge of on-premise/Azure Active Directory, including Group Policy (GPMC) and knowledge of managing, maintaining and supporting desktop and mobile hardware, OS Builds and application deployment using Microsoft InTune (AutoPilot) is required.
A good knowledge of the configuration of policies in Microsoft InTune would be an advantage. You can check out the full application criteria here, or view other open roles at AQA.
To discover lots more great jobs in Manchester (and around the UK) keep an eye on the UKTN Job Board.
This article is part of a paid partnership with careers marketplace Jobbio to share the most exciting UK tech jobs with UKTN readers.
The post A quick guide to Manchester tech for job hunters appeared first on UKTN | UK Tech News.
