London is top for talent, but can’t rest on its laurels, says Deloitte report
11 November 2013
London is the world’s top city for highly skilled knowledge-based jobs, according to a report by professional services firm Deloitte.
Mon, 11 Nov 2013London is the world’s top city for highly skilled knowledge-based jobs, according to a report by professional services firm Deloitte.
The capital employs 1.5m workers in highly skilled sectors, such as digital media, legal services, and investment banking, compared with 1.2m in New York and 630,000 in Hong Kong.
The report, ‘London Futures Globaltown: Winning London’s crucial battle for talent’ confirms London’s status as a global talent hub. It also predicts a net increase in jobs of least 300,000 by 2020, with life sciences, creative, digital and media more than compensating for a decline in financial services.
However, the report says that London faces several challenges if it is to maintain and enhance its global position. “These include identifying which skills will be in demand and when, whether our universities and other educational institutions will be able to cope with more students, as well as how we deal with increased housing, transport and infrastructure demands and resolve the debate over visa and work permit issues,” says Deloitte.
Angus Knowles-Cutler, London senior partner at Deloitte, says: “London is a global city, made up of global people and functioning on a global stage. Unless we address the needs to maintain our stand as the world’s leading city, we will lose vital people to other cities who are willing and able to accept them.”
The report makes several recommendations:
The capital employs 1.5m workers in highly skilled sectors, such as digital media, legal services, and investment banking, compared with 1.2m in New York and 630,000 in Hong Kong.
The report, ‘London Futures Globaltown: Winning London’s crucial battle for talent’ confirms London’s status as a global talent hub. It also predicts a net increase in jobs of least 300,000 by 2020, with life sciences, creative, digital and media more than compensating for a decline in financial services.
However, the report says that London faces several challenges if it is to maintain and enhance its global position. “These include identifying which skills will be in demand and when, whether our universities and other educational institutions will be able to cope with more students, as well as how we deal with increased housing, transport and infrastructure demands and resolve the debate over visa and work permit issues,” says Deloitte.
Angus Knowles-Cutler, London senior partner at Deloitte, says: “London is a global city, made up of global people and functioning on a global stage. Unless we address the needs to maintain our stand as the world’s leading city, we will lose vital people to other cities who are willing and able to accept them.”
The report makes several recommendations:
- Appoint a chief talent officer (CTO) for London, tasked with setting and delivering London’s talent strategy
- Anticipate growing pressures on infrastructure and housing
- Strengthen business links with education
- Develop London’s talent, working with the rest of the UK.
- Implement an intelligent visa system. The constraints of the visa system place unwarranted pressure on organisations, especially smaller businesses, which rely on specialist talent and skills from overseas countries to grow.
