European cities woo English-speaking IT talent

The number of English-speaking jobs advertised in Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam has jumped since the UK’s Brexit referendum in June 2016, with the German capital looking for the most tech professionals.

Continental European cities have made no secret of their desire to attract business professionals, including those in IT, and post-Brexit referendum data shows English-speaking IT pros are also a target.

Research by German recruitment website Joblift showed that demand for English-speaking professionals in all three cities grew more quickly than the job market as a whole, with Berlin showing the biggest appetite for such candidates.

Although the research covers roles across all sectors, the tech sector, particularly in London, is attracting envious attention. Tech hubs across Europe are eager to attract the best talent and are targeting British talent as well as EU citizens currently working in the UK.

In Berlin, just over 10,000 vacancies for English speakers have been advertised since the UK referendum. These have increased at a rate of 3% a month compared with the overall jobs increase of 2% a month.

A total of 3,103 English-speaking jobs advertised in the German capital were directly concerned with tech, and these jobs have been increasing by an average of 4% a month. The top-ranking jobs advertised were: intern (524), web developer (423) and software developer (230).

In a recent interview with Computer Weekly, the founder of business startup Lemoncat, which is using technology to disrupt the catering sector, said one of the reasons the company set up in Berlin was the affordable cost of living for potential employees.

“What I like about Berlin is that it is one of the most comfortable European capitals for people in the tech industry to live in,” said Lemoncat founder Doreen Huber. “Compared to Paris and London, people can still live in the city centre. There are big universities, thousands of students in the city, many international people.”

Huber added: “Berlin is very attractive for startups because they can find affordable people that speak many different languages. This means they can go international easily.”

According to the Joblift figures, Paris has seen the biggest increase in English-speaking jobs, with an average monthly increase in advertised roles of 4%, with a total of 6,510 posted since the referendum. This compares with a 1% monthly rise in the number of jobs advertised in the city overall.

In Paris, since the UK referendum, the main English-speaking IT jobs advertised have been: intern (673), software developer (530) and SAP consultant (264).

The French capital has had some success in attracting major investments. Last year, GE chose Paris as the location for its startup hub, known as GE Digital Foundry Europe, which was set up last summer. This is GE’s first digital-focused hub in Europe, with California and India its main locations before this.

The hub’s role is to select and support startups as they develop applications for GE’s industrial internet analytics platform, known as Predix.

Meanwhile, Amsterdam has seen an average 3% increase in the number of English-speaking jobs advertised, compared with a 1% increase in total jobs.

More than 8,000 English-speaking tech jobs have been posted in the Netherlands capital since 23 June 2016. The main roles advertised were: software engineer (803), intern (671) and web developer (445).

Amsterdam has been boosted by government policies in its attempt to become a leading European tech hub. Speaking to Computer Weekly in 2015, the then deputy mayor of Amsterdam, Kajsa Ollongren, who is now deputy prime minister of the Netherlands, said there was an urgent need for the city government to act to attract talent to its startup scene.

“One of the first things I noticed when I started in June 2014 was that we had lots of things going on in the startup scene, but no policies or programmes,” she said. “It wasn’t really on the agenda.”