The Deputy Prime Minister has invited the 20,000 technology businesses in Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool and Newcastle to create a virtual hub — and challenge the international dominance of high-tech cities.
Launching TechNorth – aimed at attracting inward investment by pooling ideas and resources — Nick Clegg said: “There is a clear need for us to seize an opportunity to capitalise on existing tech talent by creating a northern technology hub to rival Berlin, New York, Shanghai or even London.”
Outlining his strategy, the Lib-Dem leader said he wanted to create a stronger national and regional economy by doubling the number of technology jobs across the North. “But time is of the essence,” he warned. “We need to bring creative minds from across the North together so that we can grow this from an idea into reality.
“As a first step, I am announcing the creation of TechNorth, an agency tasked with promoting a world-class technology cluster spanning five cities across the north.”
Unveiled in July, his TechNorth initiative is an element of Glegg’s Northern Futures project, which he hopes will trigger a more innovative approach to northern economic policy by inviting both experts and the public to share ideas on challenges and solutions.
The lifeblood of any virtual hub like TechNorth is the pooling of ideas and resources, across local boundaries. To succeed business leaders and their tech-savvy workforces need to be inspired and retrained, but the biggest indicator will come with the realisation of investment.
To prove its collective worth TechNorth also needs to unite the existing clusters, each fighting for attention on the global stage. It also needs to halt the exodus of talent. More than half the tech graduates from Yorkshire and the Humber migrate south or abroad.
It’s estimated that the five northern powerhouse cities — Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool and Newcastle — collectively contain more than 20,000 Internet, software, media and telecoms businesses.
Leeds alone has an estimated 6,000 companies employing more than 35,000 people in digital and creative industries. The city is particularly strong in software development, electronic publishing and computer games, with Rockstar Leeds developing the best-selling Grand Theft Auto the action-adventure video game series.
In Sheffield, digital industries account for an estimated two-fifths of the city’s employment. Companies such as independent game development studio Sumo Digital currently employs more than 170 development staff.
The Deputy Prime Minister claimed there was growing evidence to suggest that high-tech hotspots only became truly productive when they reach a “critical mass” of international renown.
“We could get to this critical mass by attracting large inward investors which would have a magnetising effect to attract spin-off businesses and support supply chains,” he added.
“So the question for my Northern Futures consultation is … how do we make sure all this opportunity to flex our high-tech muscle doesn’t just go to London, or worse — across the pond to America?”
