From Steel City to Software City

There are now more people currently working at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) than at the height of employment when the site was home to the Orgreave colliery and coking plant.

Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry MP was at the AMRC's Factory 2050 earlier this month at the Sheffield Business Park to officially open the University of Sheffield's three new multi-million-pound engineering research centres which aim to boost the Sheffield city region's (SCR's) reputation as a hub for advanced engineering and industrial digital technologies.

Sheffield has unquestionably transformed its economy and shifted from an industrial powerhouse built on steel and coal to become globally renowned as the hub of advanced manufacturing. Along with advanced manufacturing, the creative and digital sector is reinventing the fortunes of Sheffield which has changed almost beyond recognition in the past three decades.

Tech Nation, the national network for tech entrepreneurs, reported this year that the city has 22,000 digital tech jobs. While digital companies in Sheffield boast one of the highest growth rates of any cluster in the UK, with turnover rising 47 per cent in five years. Overall, the digital tech sector in Sheffield is varied and pushing boundaries.

Sheffield’s strengths lie in businesses that create a product, or software and engineering, rather than the PR and marketing agencies that proliferate in Leeds and Manchester. Gaming is also prevalent in Sheffield; Sumo, for instance, has made an international name for itself. In education, Sheffield University’s Department of Computer Science has expertise across a range of topics that have great potential for industrial application, including cyber security, data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Sheffield is a city of makers. Our creativity sits astride a long run heritage of creating high quality products for national and international markets. Fused with modern techniques, benefiting from commitment from both universities, inspired by the range of festivals and events in the city, and enjoying a spirit of independence, Sheffield is firmly placed as a recognised and respected city with a digital and creative heartbeat. The picture that emerges is a city on the cusp of something big. It’s an exciting time to be in Sheffield.

I recently spoke to some of software and digital companies in Sheffield who had recently invested in the area, companies we had supported with their initial move to the city. It was interesting to get on update on how their expansion plans were going in Sheffield and as a recap I also asked what made them choose Sheffield in the 1st instance.

Zoe Hebblethwaite Corporate Communications Manager, Sky

“We are proud of the growing importance of our presence in Sheffield which is home to tech teams who deliver the platforms and infrastructure for our international operations in Munich and Rome and we are keen to play a role in the development of this important technology hub. These are headlines that demonstrate the strength of Yorkshire’s digital eco-system, giving us traction on an international scale among investors, analysts and those looking to develop a tech career."

Wayne Adams, Operations Manager, Perkbox

“The company’s Sheffield operation will play an integral role in the brand's future development. Having a base in the North of the country will also help the business to break out of the capital and expand nationwide. As an international city Sheffield has two world class universities with a vast talent pool, Sheffield was identified as the perfect location in which to base the brand’s second office and realise the business’ strong growth ambitions.

Sheffield has the right type of talent – there are great universities here, so lots of talented graduates, but also people who already have expertise in operations, working in contact centres, customer service and customer happiness environments. This access to talent, the low cost of office rent and the fact it’s just over two hours on the train from London makes Sheffield an ideal location for Perkbox to achieve these goals".

HR director, Rich Mortimer - Egress

“When we based in Sheffield it opened up so many more doors and being so close to the train station was even better. We have people commuting from Leeds and from all over South Yorkshire. The Sheffield office has grown quickly because of the availability of talent; the market for what we do is very hot. The majority of our development staff are in Yorkshire and that works well for us. The mix of youth and experience in our development team is quite extensive. The blend is important. “Obviously London is a big market for us but having a significant number of staff in the north gives us a balanced view of the national market. There are probably 30 times more software developers in London than Yorkshire but finding people that are good enough in London is tough. It’s easy to make money being an average developer in London. We don’t want average people. We want exceptional ones.”

Steve Heapy CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays

“As our business continues to grow, it is vital that we find the right people to support our expansion and ambitions. The pool of talented and enthusiastic web professionals in Sheffield will enable us to do exactly that, so we are delighted to be announcing these new positions as well as the opening of a brand new IT hub in the city centre.”

Andrew Morris - Chief Product Officer Epos Now

Sheffield felt like a natural choice for us as we continue our UK expansion. As a rapidly growing tech business, we’re hugely excited by the pool of emerging talent that’s on offer here. To have the opportunity to join such an inspirational new office environment has also been a real joy and we can’t wait to see where this next step will take us as a company.