London top destination for international tech talent

London's thriving technology business environment and lively cultural scene mean that the city is home to more software developers than any other European city.

Tech workers in office
Relocate Magazine January 2019 Cover Read Now
London remains the most popular destination in Europe for international tech workers, according to a new survey.

London welcomes European and non-EU tech professionals

A report from LinkedIn and Stack Overflow attributes London's appeal among overseas talent to its thriving technology businesses, along with its lively cultural scene.An analysis of LinkedIn’s members showed that, for the second year running, London welcomed more European and non-EU tech professionals than any other major European city in 2018, ahead of the likes of Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam. Research by Stack Overflow, the world’s largest developer community, showed that London was home to more software developers than any other European city, with 357,900 workers across the capital. Manchester also figured in the top 10 European cities with the largest tech workforces, coming in eighth.

Manchester ranks 8th of European cities with largest tech workforces

Some of the world’s largest technology companies have taken advantage of London’s high concentration of software developers, with the likes of Amazon, Facebook, Yoox Net-A-Porter Group and Expedia all choosing to base developer teams in the UK capital.Based on recent analysis of Stack Overflow’s 50 million monthly users, London has more software developers than other major European cities such as Paris and Amsterdam and over three times the numbers seen in Berlin.Laura Citron, CEO of London & Partners, which compiled the data, said,  “London is home to some of the best technical and creative minds who are helping us to lead the way in cutting edge research and innovations in high growth areas such as Fintech and Artificial Intelligence.

High growth areas include Fintech and Artificial Intelligence

"Today’s figures demonstrate that London is an open, welcoming city and that the strength of our tech sector is built on the international makeup of our tech workforce.“It’s important that we continue to make it as easy as possible for London’s businesses to access the best talent from all over the world. We are launching the Jobs and Talent Toolkit to help international businesses make the very most of London’s diverse talent offering.”Joshua Graff, head of LinkedIn UK, added, “LinkedIn members around the world continue to see opportunity in London, and whether it’s hunting for jobs on our platform, or moving to a new city to build a career, London remains in front of its European competitors in the battle for high-tech talent.”According to Stack, the total number of software developers in major European cities at the end of 2018 stood at: London 357,900; Paris 268,600; Amsterdam 216,800; Cologne 165,900; Moscow 160,900; Frankfurt 120,700; Madrid 111,800; Manchester 110,600; Berlin 99,400; Zurich 99,100.Publication of the report coincided with an announcement that leading Silicon Valley e-commerce platform Teespring was to invest $1 million into its UK content creators, as it named London as its official European Creator HQ.Chris Lamontagne, CEO at Teespring said, “I am thrilled to have started my position as CEO this year, and part of my vision for the company going forward was to hone in on the creators, as they sit at the heart of Teespring.“I’m excited to be investing time and effort into the UK side of the business, as the team in London can continue doing a great job of helping our creators thrive.”Relocate’s new Global Mobility Toolkit provides free information, practical advice and support for HR, global mobility managers and global teams operating overseas.Global Mobility Toolkit download factsheets resource centreAccess hundreds of global services and suppliers in our Online DirectoryClick to get to the Relocate Global Online DirectorySubscribe to Relocate Extra, our monthly newsletter, to get all of the international assignments and global mobility news.

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