The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 46: Dec/Jan 2019 | Page 5

BUSINESS NEWS BUSINESS ADVICE SOUTH WEST TECH REVOLUTION CONTINUES TO BOOST EMPLOYMENT MARKET James Eades, Systemagic Now firmly established as one of the UK’s leading hubs for the tech industry, IT jobs across the South West are continuing to boost the region’s employment figures. In general jobs in the South West of England have grown by a yearly average of 6.3%, behind the 9.4% UK average, but roles in IT have seen the biggest increase since 2015. Jobs in the information and communication industry, particularly among programmers, IT specialists, sales and business development and IT infrastructure designers, show continued growth. The findings are part of a UK-wide ‘Workforce Intelligence’ study by Emsi, on behalf of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), which looks at trends in local jobs markets within each Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area in the country. Rob Slane, Head of Marketing at Emsi UK said, “We know that the information and communication sector has grown by 38,300 from 2015-2018, but we can be more specific than this. For example, over 27,000 of these jobs are in the computer programming, consultancy and related activities industry, whilst another 3,000 are in motion picture, video and television programme activities. “It’s by identifying these sorts of details that local stakeholders can make better decisions about their focus labour market.” One of the region’s success stories is Wiltshire- based Systemagic. The company, now in its 20th year, offers helpdesk support and system maintenance, Microsoft cloud solutions like Office 365 and Azure, cloud storage solutions, online backup, IT security and website hosting among other services. Managing Director, James Eades, said, “The region has developed a great reputation for tech which is attracting start-ups and scale-ups alike to set up shop here, rather than the more traditional bases of London or Reading. Coupled with active and successful tech networking and investment scenes, we’ve created a great culture for growth which in turn is attracting the talent. “Recruitment can be tough though. The region is almost a victim of its own success in that the great talent gets snapped up quickly. As employers we’ve had to invest in creating an environment, culture and package that competes and we’ve been fortunate to attract some great new talent to the team to fuel our growth. The days of placing an advert and waiting are long gone and it’s important to partner with good recruiters who know the sector and region.” Looking to the future, he added, “The mass move to remote and flexible working will be the biggest change to industry, not just the tech sector, over the next decade. The more people work remotely the more appetite there will be for both industry events and collaboration opportunities, as well as for flexible co-working environments. We’re great in this area at creating co-working and collaboration spaces so this can only boost the sector in this region. “Ensuring scale-up businesses are well supported and represented is key to maintaining growth and job creation in the region.” SWLEP launch BREXIT business advice service Businesses concerned with the complexities of Brexit can now receive free and impartial advice, thanks to the Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP). The SWLEP Growth Hub initiative has received business readiness funding from Government to offer the free service. The Growth Hub offers tailored advice on: • Export documentation requirements • Customs declarations • Migrant worker processes • Regulatory requirements e.g. REACH • VAT issues • Certification and Licensing • Supply Chain implications • Sector Specific Regulations e.g. EASA • Trusted Trader approaches e.g. AEO status • Cashflow management • Access to finance • Exchange rate mitigation Jo Minnaar, Growth Hub Manager, said, “We urge anyone who wants to know how Brexit will affect their business and needs to make preparations to contact one of our Growth Hub Navigators. “Once the picture is clearer we will also launch a series of Brexit Workshops to ensure businesses have access to tailored industry support.” The Swindon & Wiltshire Growth Hub Navigators also offer free advice and guidance on all other areas of business. Contact the Swindon & Wiltshire Growth Hub Support Team on 01793 698005 or email: [email protected]. The Business Exchange is more than just a publishing company. We’ve built a community of followers with a shared goal – to make our local economy great. Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow. Call: 01793 847966 Email: [email protected] THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019 5