London’s Got Talent: London storms ahead of global rivals for attracting top business talent
London is the most talented city in the world, with a survey showing that there are more highly-skilled people in the UK capital than in any other global rival.
It surged ahead of rivals with a 16 per cent rise in high skilled workers in the past three years. London is now "in a league of its own", said report authors at Deloitte.
The number of high skilled employees in the capital rose by 235,000 since 2013 to 1.7m, taking a bite out of runner up, the Big Apple. New York managed to lose around 5,000 top jobs, leaving its total flat over the last three years at 1.1m.
London powered ahead of global city challengers Paris, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Singapore, who combined added just 78,000 high-skilled jobs over the period.
“We’ve been surprised by the growth of London. The capital has surged into a league of its own,” Angus Knowles-Cutler, London senior partner at Deloitte, told City PM
Much of London’s success in attracting high skilled workers has been put down to its broad industry base, with the city coming in number one for 11 of 22 sectors.
“Digital, robotics, and computing software have all pushed the capital on”, said Knowles-Cutler, adding: “London’s range of industries is what makes it stand out.”
Being in high demand has its downsides however, with London named the world’s most expensive city to accommodate an employee for the third year in a row, by estate agent Savills.
The capital managed to once again outpace main rival New York, and has costs double that of Sydney, LA and Chicago.
London’s success in attracting talent has been welcomed by the capital's business groups, though they have warned the city is facing challenges.
“There’s never any room for complacency, we might be number one now but we may not always be. The report points to a skills gap and we need to take a long hard look at what London will need in the future,” said David Lutton, director of competitiveness and financial services policy at business group London First.
London’s housing crisis and ageing infrastructure have also been raised as potential setbacks.
“The most obvious threat to London’s top spot is the divisive, insular and anti-immigration language being used by some in central government which could well see talented migrants take their skills elsewhere and bruise London’s image abroad,” Andrew Silvester, head of campaigns, at the Institute of Directors added.