The Government initiative to invest in AI-related infrastructure is at a time when the industry is accelerating away and while the UK remains a global leader, the planned investment will facilitate further growth and hiring.
The combination of increased investment in AI, political shifts in the UK and falling interest rates has made 2024 a pivotal year for the finance sector.
The announcement by the Labour party regarding increasing investment into AI will be welcome news for the industry. Similarly, with over 1,300 AI companies already established in London The UK tech sector overall is now worth £1 trillion and with VC firms are scaling up their funds, indicating that 2025 is set to be a bumper year for investment as UK-based venture capital firms raised $11.3bn in dry powder, a 59% increase from last year.
The deceleration of tech-centric sectors in London during 2023 mirrors the broader downturn experienced across the UK, with IT vacancies plummeting by 50.5% in the capital compared to 36.3% regionally. Hence the fact that demand for IT professionals has fallen 42.8% compared to the peaks seen in 2022, is a temporary blip.
Every generation bears witness to a technological jump which has the capacity to change the way we work. For example, from the first generation of mobile phones in the 1980s, through to smart phones and mobile devices this has transformed the way we do business. Nonetheless, we have seen increasing numbers of jobs displaced as different technologies have achieved scale.
