London facing competition to hold onto tech graduates, survey shows

London is facing competition to hold onto its technology graduates, according to research from LinkedIn.

The research, which has been released during London Technology Week, showed that the city’s graduates are being snapped up by tech hub rivals from the UK and Europe.

Popular

LinkedIn studied 3.5 million profiles on its website between March 2015 and March 2016 of those who had graduated from a London-based university in the past three years and found that over 70 per cent had stayed in the city after they had graduated.

The study also identified the areas in which London graduates are being snapped up by tech hubs, with Berlin, Stockholm, Asia and North America being the most popular destinations.  

The research also showed that the UK’s wider tech sector is continuing to grow, with a 15 per cent increase in the number of people working in the software industry in the 12 months leading up to March 2016.

Important

Commenting on the research, LinkedIn UK Country Manager Joshua Graff stated that London should do more to ensure that graduates do not take their skills elsewhere.

“London’s tech graduates are some of the most sought after in the world, so it comes as no surprise that in an exciting, growing sector nearly a third are taking advantage of employment opportunities elsewhere,” he said.

He added that with the sector going from “strength to strength”, it is “vital” that the city does everything it can to hold onto its graduates as they will play an “important role in securing its continued growth in the future.”