<p>Last month saw the launch of Tech City‘s <a href="http://technation.techcityuk.com/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tech Nation 2017 report</a> highlighting the growth of tech and digital across the UK and demonstrating the country's claim to be Europe’s digital capital.<br><br>The report showed how Bristol and Bath have emerged as two of the best places to live and work if you are or want to be employed in tech. It also said that with a total digital turnover of £8.1bn, Bristol and Bath were the third best locations for tech worker productivity for the second year in a row behind London and Reading</p>
<p>Report highlights included:</p>
<ul>
<li>35,924 digital jobs</li>
<li>17% growth rate in firms </li>
<li>225 startup births from 2011 to 2015 </li>
<li>£47,063 average advertised digital </li>
<li>£8.1bn digital tech turnover</li>
</ul>
<h3>The good life</h3>
<p>Bristol also topped the list of the "best places to live in Britain" in the report with 92% of tech workers in Bristol and Bath rating their quality of life as good, in comparison with just 59% of Londoners. </p>
<p>With a variety of tech employers from startups to multinationals, a range of technology jobs, competitive house prices and great schools and universities, the city clearly has a lot to offer. Moreover, salaries are healthy with the average digital tech worker earning £47,063, rising by almost 10% in just five years. Optimism in Bristol is also high with 88% describing the region’s digital growth as ‘good’. </p>
<h3>Notable meetups </h3>
<p>The technology community is known for its meetups and Bristol and Bath some of the strongest events in the country: </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://techspark.co/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Techspark</a></li>
<li>
<a href="https://hbb.org.uk/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">High tech Bristol and Bath</a> </li>
<li><a href="Venturefesthttp://venturefestbristolandbath.com/">Venturefest;
</ul>
<h3>Tech employers</h3>
<p>In recent years old shipping areas have been regenerated to provide room for expansion and companies are now strong rivals to their London competitors. Hewlett Packard, EE and global mobile tech firm Somo are found here and the city's 50 micro-electronics and silicon design companies employ about 5,000 techies.<br><br>The economic landscape of Bristol has moved with the times with creative media, electronics <g class="gr_ gr_52 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="52" data-gr-id="52">and</g> the aerospace industry all thriving there and large media <g class="gr_ gr_54 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="54" data-gr-id="54">organisations</g> like Aardman Animations (creators of Wallace & Gromit) and IMDb operating there as well as Meiko, XMOS and supercomputing company Cray with its European HQ.</p>
<p>The city’s influence in technology is also seen at <a href="http://www.brl.ac.uk/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Bristol Robotics Laboratory</a>, which is now the UK’s leading academic <g class="gr_ gr_46 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="46" data-gr-id="46">centre</g> for robotics research. With all these <g class="gr_ gr_47 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="47" data-gr-id="47">organisations</g> in the city, tech opportunities range from manning the helpdesk, joining hackathons or working as a web developer for one of the many start-ups.</p>
<p>Another of the city’s biggest industries is the financial sector, which is the third largest in the UK and is responsible for employing 59,000 people. It means companies like Lloyds Banking Group, AXA and the Bank of Ireland are creating plenty of fine tech and opportunities in banking technology.<br><br>Get started on a tech career<br>With two universities based in Bristol and two in neighboring Bath, each September there is an influx of new students which ensures that Bristol's population remains diverse. <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The University of Bristol</a> is ranked 47th in the world and 6th in the UK and has an active computer society, which explains why it ranks the fifth best for computer science. <br><br>These computer science students are sought after by local employers as they have the theory behind the computer programmes that have such a huge impact on almost every aspect of our lives. <br><br>Not only do students study the theory of software and software systems, but they also learn how to design, develop, and apply such technologies, becoming top-class problem solvers in the process. <br><br>The Tech Nation report highlights the opportunities for young people with the right digital skills and with a wealth of opportunity across the country - and over 30,000 digital and tech jobs in Bristol and Bath alone - never has there been a better time to work in this thriving industry.</p>
