Last night, our region’s tech leaders came together for a Digital Skills Feast, held as part of our Digital Skills Festival, which was sponsored and co-hosted by Slalom.
The week-long festival has been a staple of the region’s tech scene for more than a decade now, with the flagship Talent Day bringing in 2000 people interested in careers in tech.
This year, we launched the brand new Digital Skills Feast evening event, which invited tech leaders, stakeholders and education partners to the beautiful setting of the Revolution Gallery at the Science and Industry Museum for a three course meal. The setting was intentionally chosen as a nod to our region’s industrial heritage, and we were seated next to the replica of the computer ‘Baby’, while we looked at how we continue to grow our tech ecosystem.
Katie Gallagher OBE, Managing Director of Manchester Digital, welcomed the room and reflected on a week that showcased the power of investing in talent. From the ingenuity on display at the AtkinsRéalis Hackathon to the Future Innovators Day with Amazon, the inspiring Digital Her Day, and the hugely popular Talent Day.
Katie Gallagher OBE, managing director of Manchester Digital, delivers her welcome address.
Councillor Nick Peel, leader of Bolton Council and portfolio holder for digital and tech for GMCA, gave a speech saying: “The Digital Skills Festival is vital for our city region. AI is currently changing our lives and there are 291 AI companies in our region. Our region’s universities are ranked second in the country for computer science studies and we have the highest retention rate for graduates. We are also the first city region in the UK to create a technical education system, with the new MBACC and with further devolution coming in April, so we are well positioned for the future.”
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, Parliamentary Undersecretary for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety, recorded a video message for the gathering, and said:
“The Digital Skills Festival really puts a spotlight on digital skills and is testament to Manchester being a vibrant tech hub. My first ministerial visit was to Manchester to witness the critical role that Manchester Digital plays in driving innovation across the tech sector.
“I want to reiterate this Government’s commitment to thriving tech ecosystems in every corner of the UK. We know that national success is built on the strength of our regional hubs.
“But having great ideas is not enough - the true engine of progress is people. Without a skilled and adaptable workforce, the most brilliant innovations will struggle to reach their full potential. That’s why digital skills will remain at the top of our agenda and a core part of our mission to drive economic growth and create opportunities for all.
“This is why we’re setting up Skills England. This new body is dedicated to working with employers, and ensuring training programmes are laser-focused on the tech sector, bridging the skills gap that could hold us back. We’re also reforming the apprenticeship offer to a wider levy-funded growth and skills offer. The new levy will allow finding for shorter duration apprenticeships in key sectors like digital and tech.”
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch addresses the room via video link.
Tech leaders panel
Guests also heard from a panel of tech leaders which was hosted by podcaster David Savage, Harvey Nash’s Technology Evangelist and host of podcast Tech Talks, with the panel consisting of Caroline Grant, Managing Director at Slalom Manchester; Rob Sugden, Managing Director, ECOM, our Sector Insights Partner and Alison Ross MBE, Chief People and Operations Officer at Auto Trader.
The panel talked through a preview of some of the findings from our upcoming Sector Insights Report, which finds that overall confidence for the year ahead is good but that we’re facing a number of challenges. Key challenges stated by tech leaders include: economic uncertainty; regulatory hurdles; funding constraints; infrastructure limitations and talent shortage.
Our panel with L-R: David Savage, Caroline Grant, Alison Ross MBE and Rob Sugden
We’ve gathered just a few of the insights that were within the panel discussion:
All of the panellists agreed that the last few years have been tough with the unpredictability of Covid, a change of Government and the ongoing uncertainty of the economy. However, all were positive about growth within the tech industry, and especially those businesses already utilising AI and machine learning, such as life science and the finance sector.
Talking about the talent pathway and hiring patterns, the panel agreed that people definitely have a risk aversion to moving jobs at the moment, which in turn affects the jobs market.
Rob added: “There has been a four year period since Covid where the majority of businesses haven't been investing in early careers talent, we will feel the impact of this underinvestment in the coming years as it heightens the future skills shortage.”
Rob Sugden (ECOM) on the Digital Skills Feast panel.
Touching on growing diversity in the tech industry, Caroline said: “While it’s important to keep bringing women into the tech industry, it’s even more important to retain them in the tech industry, and get them into leadership positions. We need more mentorship and coaching programmes, as well as good role models.”
Talking about working from home flexibility, Alison said, “I’m firmly in the camp of having people in the office. Software is collaborative and creative and we need people to be able to work together. The fact that all of our software engineers are based in one office in Manchester is a huge competitive advantage for us.
“We are hybrid with people coming into the office three days a week, and of course there is flexibility where needed, such as in the school summer holidays. However, I believe that allowing people to work at home would negatively affect women in particular, as they would miss out from all of the benefits of being in the office and the collaboration. So ensuring that people come into the office is an equaliser.”
Alison Ross MBE, speaking at the Digital Skills Feast
And that concludes yet another impactful and insightful week of celebrating our city’s tech industry and demonstrating the huge variety of careers in tech. We’d like to thank every one of our sponsors and partners and everyone who joined us across the week’s events for what was a very special festival this year.
If any businesses would like to speak to us about supporting or sponsoring any aspect of next year’s festival, please get in touch.
