Britain has plenty of well-known and established tech hubs. London and Cambridge have world-class reputations for finance, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. But there are many other vibrant tech hubs across the UK, and one that should be on every job hunter’s radar in 2023 is Newcastle.
Newcastle upon Tyne, located in the North East of England, has lots to offer tech sector professionals, from interesting career prospects to a better quality of life – and of course, a cheaper cost of living.
There is a lot more to this northern city than amazing architecture, renowned nightlife, and its currently high-flying Premier League football team. Newcastle has been growing as a prominent tech hub in its own right.
Newcastle’s journey to tech success has seen a growing number of innovative businesses locate in the university city. These include Siemens, Version 1, and Arctic Wolf. Most recently, American tech consultancy firm Credera announced it will invest £25m and create 200 high-skilled positions in the city.
Newcastle has its fair share of homegrown startups too, such as global software technology consultancy Test Driven Solutions; the Handiman app, which allows users to either find a local handyman or sign up to find work; and Donr, providing powerful digital fundraising solutions for charities.
Fuelling innovation is a number of factors. Newcastle has two world-class universities, providing a talent and research and development pipeline. Invest Newcastle, the inward investment agency for Newcastle and Gateshead, secured a record number of investments in 2020 and 2021, despite the challenges brought by the pandemic. The city is also home to the National Innovation Centre for Data.
Together, this has created a recipe for success. According to the March 2022 UK Tech Talent Tracker from Accenture, the pool of technology talent in northern cities had grown on average by 15% in the previous year, with Newcastle seeing a 40% jump in artificial intelligence professionals. The figures compare to an average 9% growth rate in southern cities in the same period.
“With more robotics and AI fuelling our industries, new technology and software engineering skills are required in every corner of the country,” said Accenture’s technology lead in the UK and Ireland, Shaheen Sayed. “London’s dominance as a centre of technology talent remains, but with growth in the technology talent pool no longer being so concentrated in the South, it does indicate we are edging closer to closing the technology skills gap that has been historically prevalent in the UK.”
These are the key tech sectors in Newcastle driving recruitment and some of the employers looking to expand their teams:
1. Fintech
Newcastle was named as an emerging fintech hub in the 2021 Kalifa Review of UK fintech report. This is due in most part to the area’s significant proportion of high-growth fintechs. Bottlepay, Singletrack, and Kani Payments have all sprung up in the city.
Newcastle also has a historic financial services market stretching back centuries. But today, fintech is thriving in the region due to the lower cost of doing business, and also the convenient location between other well-established finance hubs such as Edinburgh and London.
A big fintech employer in Newcastle is FIS Global. Providing services to sit behind financial technology which transforms how we live, work and play, the company helps businesses and communities to adopt new methods of banking and investment. This huge multinational has 20,000 clients and more than one million merchant locations in over 130 countries.
Working here comes with a competitive salary and benefits, professional and personal development, and an inclusive team atmosphere. You can check out FIS Global’s open roles here.
2. Greentech
The North East of England has been hailed as the centre of the UK’s energy revolution, thanks in large part to the area’s past history of engineering, mining, and shipbuilding. This has resulted in a thriving skills base and numerous development sites in ideal locations.
Innovative companies are now using the infrastructure and skills that once served the shipyards and heavy industry to create global offshore renewables. Global companies such as Technip FMC, Baker Hughes, Bel Valves, SMD, Royal IHC, JDR Cables, Osbit, and Siemens all have operations in the region.
Siemens is the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe. The company’s energy sector, Siemens Energy, is focused on fighting climate change through renewable energy sources and new technologies.
Alongside the strong ethos of the company, working at Siemens has lots of perks and benefits including tuition reimbursement, career development plans, and a commuter benefit programme. You can look at available roles at Siemens here.
3. Cybersecurity
The cybersecurity sector in Newcastle is bolstered by the colleges and universities in the city. Newcastle University offers a variety of different degrees in this field including bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD programmes. This creates a large security talent pool which in turn attracts top companies.
Most recently, Newcastle’s strong educational footing has attracted US-based cybersecurity company, Arctic Wolf. In 2022, it opened the company’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) headquarters in Newcastle following a period of growth. It is expected that the new headquarters will bring hundreds of jobs to the North East over the next few years.
Working here comes with lots of different benefits including equity for all employees, remote work opportunities, paid parental leave, professional development, and flexible paid time off too. You can find out what roles Arctic Wolf is hiring for here.
This article is part of a paid partnership with careers marketplace Jobbio to share the most exciting UK tech jobs with UKTN readers.