A surge in demand for AI professionals has helped tech job vacancies across the UK to grow by 21% in a year, with the UK expanding its tech talent pool to its highest level since 2019, according to new data from consultancy firm Accenture’s UK Tech Talent Tracker.
The research, which tracks the UK’s technology sector vacancies and skills, indicates a nearly 200% year-on-year increase in demand for AI skills across UK cities. Despite efforts to promote tech innovation in other regions, nearly two-thirds (65%) of technology vacancies are in London – with the capital accounting for 80% of demand for AI skills across all UK cities.
Other UK cities have shown promising growth in demand for AI skills, including Glasgow (150%), Liverpool (125%) and Leeds (83%). With ambitions set for an Oxford-Cambridge tech corridor, demand for AI skills has grown at a steadier pace in the cities of Oxford and Cambridge at 54% and 62%, respectively.
While London continues to drive growth, the UK has expanded its technology talent pool by 53% in a year, resulting in nearly 1.69m professionals reporting skills in disciplines, including cyber, data, and robotics. Manchester is emerging as a quantum computing talent hub, with a 66% increase in quantum skills.
Regional upskilling gap emerges
Additional research indicates that organisations based in London are ahead in preparing for the impact of generative AI, investing more in training and technology. Approximately 58% of businesses in London have increased their investment in upskilling in generative AI, compared to 40% of firms outside London.
While every region has vastly increased their AI investments compared to last year, London-based firms plan to allocate nearly a fifth of their technology budgets to AI this year. This compares to 13% in the Northeast and Yorkshire, Scotland, Wales, and the Southeast.
Emma Kendrew, Accenture’s Technology Lead in the UK, said, “The UK has a golden opportunity to establish itself as a global AI leader, and London is at the epicentre. The UK is seeing hotspots of tech talent emerge which we expect to grow as AI is more widely adopted. However, to fully capitalise on the economic potential of AI, regions outside of London will also need to compete for talent and infrastructure to achieve sustainable growth and unlock opportunities. The disparity in regional upskilling in AI raises concerns about a growing digital divide in the UK and could hurt long-term competitiveness.”
Minister for AI, Feryal Clark, said: “We’re seeing growing demand for tech skills in cities up and down the country, with communities hungry to realise the potential that generation-defining technologies like AI and Quantum can deliver. Technology has huge potential to drive growth and deliver real opportunity for communities right across the UK – the founding principles of our Plan for Change. This government is committed to give everyone a stake in our tech-driven future – from London and Yorkshire to Merseyside and beyond through our AI Opportunities Action Plan.”
Methodology
Developed by Accenture Research, the Accenture UK Tech Talent Tracker queried emerging technology keywords on the LinkedIn Professional Network in the first and second week of February 2025. The tracker assesses skills of both existing roles and open positions, querying for nine technologies: data analytics, artificial intelligence, extended reality, blockchain, quantum computing, cyber security, robotics, cloud computing, and ethical/responsible technology. The research covered all of the UK, with a focus on the following cities: London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow, Cardiff, Brighton, Cambridge, Birmingham, Leeds, Oxford and Newcastle.
For the supplementary Gen AI research, Accenture Research partnered with YouGov to conduct two surveys of 1,085 executives and 3,752 employees in July– August 2024. The employee survey examined UK workers’ experiences and perceptions of gen AI, while the executive survey explored executives’ views on the AI ecosystem, their investments in gen AI, their AI strategies and their evaluations of the skills of their workforce.
