In 2023, we announced our partnership with the UK’s technology trade association, TechUK. We’ve now been working with the team for almost a year to profile regional growth in tech across the UK.
Our latest team up with TechUK was for their inaugural Mayoral Hustings event in Manchester. We were in attendance as Tech Climbers to represent the scale up community, to understand how the candidates would look to increase support for these growing businesses.
Our recent Manchester campaign found that over 75% of Greater Manchester’s tech businesses plan to seek growth capital this year, potentially attracting millions in investment to the city-region and creating hundreds of new jobs, so it’s vital that mayoral candidates understand and engage with the industry, understanding the value it can bring to the economy.
The event, held in Manchester city centre, brought together leaders of the tech community with two mayoral candidates – Jake Austin from the Liberal Democrats party, and current mayor, Andy Burnham from the Labour party.
Sue Daley, director at TechUK introduced the candidates and set out the key topics for discussion – digital infrastructure, skills, cyber safety, and AI. Each candidate was given the opportunity to put forward their view on the subjects before the debate ended with questions.
Starting with the timely topic of infrastructure, Sue opened the floor to the candidates by emphasising the importance of digital connection. Mayor Andy Burnham began by outlining the ambitions he first set in 2017 to increase connectivity in the region so that there would be no signal blackspots. Meanwhile, Jake Austin made an ambitious promise that if elected, his team would work closely with engineers to close the infrastructure gap within two years. Both candidates emphasised the point that there is no point in upskilling the public if they are unable to access tech because of where they live.
Moving on to skills, Jake began the discussion by stating that upskilling is the key to unlocking Greater Manchester’s potential – focusing on retraining adults with free coding classes. Mayor Andy Burnham also put the spotlight on tech education, discussing alternative education routes focusing on vocational skills, working with employers to design a curriculum.
Mayor Andy Burnham:
“Kids who are sitting in their bedroom in Hulme, Old Trafford and Moss Side can see the skyscrapers, but they can’t see a path for themselves to the skyscrapers. Our aim is to provide education that gives them the path.”
Looking at cybersecurity, Sue opened with a chilling statement that the cost of cybercrime is now valued at £8.4 trillion – so what would the candidates do to create a strong ecosystem to protect Greater Manchester residents? Jake began the discussion by talking about the power of awareness, whilst Mayor Andy Burnham cited the immense tech talent in the city, and how they could work together to raise awareness of financial cybercrime.
Last up was the ever-present subject of AI, and the opportunities and risk for Manchester. Mayor Andy Burnham opened by talking about some of the great work his office has already done with AI – including working with Google on an AI traffic light project, which has been successful. He also spoke of the growing community of life science researchers on the Oxford Road corridor, and how AI could transform diagnostics – clearly showcasing Manchester’s strength in AI. Meanwhile, Jake brought the topic back to education, pointing out that AI is only as good as the people controlling it, so more training should take place to strengthen Manchester’s AI offering.
The session closed with questions, and our founder, Anna Heyes took to the microphone to ask a burning question on the region’s hunt for growth capital, and how we could expect to see the candidates address the need for more investment in Manchester. Jake spoke of the need to drive investment into Manchester by ensuring the region is set up for success – through connectivity, better infrastructure and as a place that people want to live and work. Meanwhile, Mayor Andy Burnham spoke of the region’s weakness around venture capital. Having attended a meeting with the British Venture Capital Association in London, the Mayor spoke of the need for bigger venture capital players to come out of London and set up in Manchester – because the region has the success stories, like Matillion and Peak AI.
Mayor Andy Burnham said an interesting quote at the start of the mayoral debate –“Greater Manchester is all about partnership and building something together” – and that’s something we really believe in at Tech Climbers – showcasing startups and scaleups, and giving them a platform for growth.
We’ll be back in Greater Manchester later this year, but you can check out last year’s winners and regional report here: https://www.techclimbers.co.uk/locations/greater-manchester