Member Article

1,500 high quality jobs to be created in North East IT this year

Demand is outstripping supply as 1,500 high quality jobs will be created in the North East IT sector this year, a study by regional IT promoting body Dynamo suggests.

The study shows an average salary of £35k per year for jobs in roles such as software development and systems integration.

Entrepreneur Charlie Hoult, Dynamo’s chairman, said: “The North East has always pioneered computing but without the fanfare.

“The North East led the industrial revolution and, make no mistake, it is leading the information revolution – whether in government computing, the intelligent utility grid, medical innovation, computer games or software development.

“£35k per year is a great base salary for a local economy that is 40% cheaper than London and in a sector which has seen competitive salary growth over the last few years.”

Dynamo has a mission to ensure North East graduates and school leavers are at the front of the queue for regional IT jobs. The body commissioned a detailed analysis of the region’s IT industry to provide a base case for its own activity.

Dynamo includes IT employers, technology hubs, education, local government and employer support initiatives and has recruited some of the biggest names in North East IT to lead its development.

The board comprises: Accenture’s North East managing director Bob Paton, Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Digital Institute at Newcastle University Paul Watson, director of Orchard Information Systems John Hunt, CEO of Opencast Software Mike O’Brien, CTO of Sage UK Stuart Lynn and director of MI-Case Anthony McMenzie.

Mr Paton, who runs Accenture’s Newcastle Delivery Centre, is recruiting for 90 highly skilled technology positions at Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside, where the company offers technology support to clients around the world.

He said: “The North East is an increasingly dynamic region with a thriving technology industry and our aim at Dynamo is to be a recognisable ‘go to’ partner for inward investment, politicians and civil servants.”

Stuart Lynn, chief technology and information officer at Sage, which is recruiting 120 new staff, said: “Our business leaders have a responsibility to work with the education establishments to make sure IT skills are aligned with current and future business needs.”

Dynamo’s groundwork will come together in a packed one-day conference in Newcastle on May 1st, themed ‘Defining the NE IT economy’.

Already 250 delegates are signed up to attend, with more than 50 speakers including Professor Sugata Mitra, Chi Onwurah MP, Guy Opperman MP, BBC Technology Correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones, The Guardian’s Economics Correspondent Philip Inman and Redhat CTO Mark Little.

More information is available on Dynamo here, and to secure a place at the conference, please visit http://dynamo14.eventbrite.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .