Beancounters at Forrester found that post-Brexit regulatory red tape prevents UK-based cities from being ranked as a top skill cluster in Europe.
The top 10 metropolitan areas with the best skills and talent clusters across Europe are Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Hamburg, Oslo, Munich, Vienna, Zurich, and Amsterdam.
Forrester said that these metropolitan areas are globally integrated, home to innovative businesses, and have a digitally advanced infrastructure to attract and accommodate the concentration of skills and talents of the future.
However, London, which is often known as Europe’s tech hub, was ranked 19th due to stringent immigration rules post-Brexit. Forrester noted that post-Brexit, the labour movement in the UK is restricted, resulting in London, Manchester, and Birmingham sliding in rankings.
The Forrester report states that the most critical talent pool includes data engineers, experts in agile and DevOps, tech architects, cyber security consultants, human scientists and designers.
European businesses increasingly understand the need to attract individuals with specific sector expertise and soft skills. “Leading businesses place diversity, partner ecosystems and innovation centres in their talent management strategies”, Forrester wrote.
Forrester recommended that business and IT leaders understand where the top skill clusters are located in Europe as a first step to attracting and retaining the best talent and sourcing the right skills needed for the future of work.
Jacob Rees-Mogg did not respond to requests we didn’t make.
