CREATIVE & DIGITAL

TECHSTARS SHINE

Local entrepreneurs, creatives, developers, and business experts joined forces at Cornwall’s first Techstars Start-up Weekend, hosted by Falmouth University’s venture studio, Launchpad.

Over a packed three days, 25 ideas were pitched with the top seven chosen for development. Teams were formed, ideas product tested, validated, and honed at speed, culminating with a presentation night to a panel of judges with the winners crowned. The diverse range of business ideas included everything from how to link product designers with local manufacturers; a sustainable solution to luxury wooden wine boxes; an app that directly connects local fishermen with their consumers and a standardised certification of AI ethicality.

The winner, Your Home Finder, was on a mission to turn landlords away from the Airbnb model and consider long-term rents, demonstrating how the differential between a short term let and its associated costs was less advantageous as a business model than renting long term.

RURAL GIGABIT ROLLOUT

Nadine Dorries is calling on broadband firms to play their part in the biggest internet upgrade in British history by bidding for up to £36 million to rollout lightning-fast gigabit broadband in rural Cornwall.

The Digital Secretary visited the opening day of the Royal Cornwall Show last month to champion the Government’s £5 billion broadband scheme.

She told an event hosted by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) that thousands of people in rural parts of Cornwall are a big step closer to getting much faster broadband thanks to Project Gigabit - the biggest Government-funded broadband roll-out ever seen in the UK.

She said: “Up and down the UK, we’re spending £5 billion to connect homes and businesses onto one of the fastest networks on the planet.

“We have pinpointed 19,000 homes and businesses across Cornwall, in places that are hard to connect. And we’re inviting broadband companies to bid for £36 million worth of contracts to connect those communities.”

TECH RECRUITMENT CRISIS

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s tech sector is creating some of the most sought-after jobs in the UK, according to a new report.

The first-ever Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Digital Skills Report, commissioned by the CIoS Digital Skills Partnership, reveals the top nine most in demand tech jobs available in the region.

The report shows Cornwall is not all pasties and clotted cream, with 1,460 digital organisations driving the success of the tech sector, with a forecasted 17.9% growth by 2026.

As well as shining a light on sector, the report also highlights the recruitment crisis facing the industry, with a growing shortage of software engineers, developers and programmers in the CIoS region despite the Cornish tech sector offering higher than the average UK wage for the positions.

Councillor Louis Gardner, Portfolio holder for Economy at Cornwall Council, said: “This is the first time we’ve had this type of insightful regional data to better help us manage the widening digital skills gap in the CIoS region.

“While there are already interventions in place, there is still a serious imbalance in the skills demanded versus the skill sets we have in the talent pipeline to overcome the current deficit. For that reason, this report is incredibly important to make sure we are working in the right way with the community and businesses to support them in getting the best workforce available to do the jobs they need.”

Gary Coyle, head of local engagement, Local Digital Skills Partnership at The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), added: “The findings from the CIoS Digital Skills Report will help inform more impactful decision making when working with local employers to create a more effective plan to overcome the current digital skills gap challenges.

“It is important that we all create digital skills interventions that not only work UK wide, but also work on a local level to support regional talent. Creating more tailored regional programmes will encourage the next generation of digital experts to train locally, stay local and continue the future success of Cornwall’s tech industry.”