Why You Should Work With a Birmingham Technology Recruitment Agency Like VIQU

The West Midlands tech sector is currently valued at over £15.3bn. Tech investment in the region has grown exponentially in the past few years, leading to Birmingham being named the UK’s fastest growing tech hub in 2021.

I’ve been a technology recruiter in Birmingham for 10+ years, so I feel more than qualified to discuss the reasons why you should choose to recruit Birmingham tech talent. Additionally, below I will discuss the benefits that working with a Birmingham technology recruitment agency like VIQU can bring to your IT recruitment strategy.

Why choose to recruit Birmingham tech talent?

1. Birmingham is central to UK business

Birmingham, alongside Manchester and Glasgow, has been identified by the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper as an “innovation accelerator”. This is quite an elaborate way of saying that Birmingham has been found to have a strong infrastructure which can accommodate “high-growth industries”. This highlights Birmingham’s potential as a key player in the UK tech sector.

HS2 will link Birmingham and London by the end of the decade, slashing the commute time between the two cities to 49 minutes. This move cements the importance of Birmingham as a big player in the UK economy. Personally, I hope HS2 will break down the barriers between London and Birmingham businesses and give both London and Birmingham tech talent further opportunities to expand their experiences and skillset.

As the host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham received £500m in investment. Improvements mainly focused on transport, cycling routes, and improvements to the city’s infrastructure to host the games. New developments worth £700m in the city centre, such as Paradise, created new homes, offices, retail, and leisure spaces. These improvements are only furthering Birmingham’s position as a top city for both businesses and tech talent to thrive!

2. Birmingham is a major UK tech hub

Birmingham was labelled as the fastest growing tech hub in 2021, and has most recently taken second place in a list of leading tech cities in the UK outside of London.

Certain factors have boosted this status. For example, Birmingham Tech Week was started in 2019, and has grown to be the largest regional tech festival. Last year alone the event had over 5000 attendees, 50+ partners and 100+ speakers.

The investment in the tech sector in this region has been ever-growing. It was announced at the end of the latest Birmingham Tech Week that 6 large tech businesses will be opening offices in Birmingham, as well as other household names such as Goldman Sachs. This will undoubtedly cause further migration of tech talent and businesses towards the city, featuring individuals who want to be surrounded by the very best in tech!

3. Birmingham’s tech population is only getting better

Not only is Birmingham the 2^nd biggest city in the UK, but it also has the highest rate of graduate retention. With 16 universities within an hour’s drive of the city, Birmingham is rich in students and top graduates. With a number of key tech research centres and a large population of under 25’s (40%), Birmingham is at the centre of innovation for young minds.

Currently, the West Midlands is home to approximately 144,000 individuals working in the tech sector, with around 56,000 located in Birmingham itself. The most in demand tech jobs in the area include software developers, cyber professionals, business analysts and project managers. The population, including tech professionals, in Birmingham is more diverse than the rest of the country. In the tech space, Birmingham has one of the highest proportion of BAME in digital tech roles (28%). Businesses drawing upon Birmingham tech talent will find a large and diverse candidate pool of IT talent, which cannot be found elsewhere.

Why choose a Birmingham technology recruitment agency like VIQU?

Choosing a Birmingham technology recruitment agency like VIQU will give you a competitive edge. VIQU has the local market knowledge and access, to secure Birmingham tech talent to allow your business to continue to prosper.

We are local!

With our main office being based in central Birmingham, if you are looking for a technology recruiter in Birmingham that eats, sleeps and breaths Birmingham and West Midlands tech talent, you have come to the right place! Although we work with companies across the UK, our local knowledge of Birmingham businesses and candidates gives our clients a huge advantage. In contrast to a national chain recruitment agency, working with a technology recruiter in Birmingham like VIQU means that your candidates get a truly bespoke and tailored service.

We use our location to our advantage. Whether that’s providing information to candidates who are considering relocating, or picking up candidates from the train station before an interview. Our locality is especially helpful for candidates who are considering relocating from abroad through our Skilled Workers Programme. We meet them in person at the airport, organise their taxis, help with visas and support them to get acquainted with the area.

We can offer a more personal level of service

Microsoft Team and Zoom calls are fantastic, but nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting. It gives all parties insights that simply aren’t possible through a computer screen. As a Birmingham technology recruitment agency with experienced and proactive colleagues, our team relish the opportunity to have meetings in-person, and many of our local clients welcome our recruiters in spending a day or two on-site with their team every week. So instead of tech issues and “I can hear you, can you hear me” escapades, you get a personal customer service experience, which only has a positive impact on your Birmingham tech talent hiring efforts.

We understand the Birmingham tech talent market

As a Birmingham technology recruitment agency, we understand that as the city’s tech scene booms, the compensation and benefits you offer through your Employer Value Proposition will need to be tailored to the city’s tech talent. Their needs and motivations will differ from candidates in London/ Manchester/ Cardiff etc. We have experience in working with local businesses and candidates and know what competitors are offering and what candidates want.

These Birmingham-specific insights will make the recruitment process more efficient for you. The advice we can provide regarding compensation, salaries and general tips on attracting local Birmingham tech talent will be a key factor in reducing your candidate dropout rate.

We can help secure the best Birmingham tech talent

Every high quality technology recruiter in Birmingham prides themselves on having an extensive network of Birmingham tech talent. As a local Birmingham tech recruitment agency, we find that candidates based in Birmingham use agencies like VIQU as their first port of call to engage with great local businesses they’re interested in working for. They know that we know the area and local transport systems, so we won’t send them accidentally across the county or show them companies with opportuities that are 3 hours away. Many of our candidates love the personal touch that national agencies just cannot deliver due to their size.

If you are looking for top Birmingham tech talent and need a Birmingham technology recruitment agency to help take your IT recruitment for 2023 to the next level, please contact us today.