Columnist Aoife McDowell, Sync NI
Let’s Talk Tech
Innovation and opportunities: The spotlight continues to shine brightly on Northern Ireland’s technology sector.
While the days may be getting darker this winter, the innovation and opportunities beaming out of Northern Ireland have only shone brighter. The region has set out a number of new and innovative ways to tackle the climate crisis, while the local technology sector continues to go from strength to strength.
AI Con platforms the opportunities for Northern Ireland to lead in AI The AI Con event returned to Titanic Belfast. The event united world-leading technology professionals and business leaders to examine how artificial intelligence is changing our world and the opportunities and challenges it presents. The Global AI Index places the UK as the third best country for excelling in investment, innovation and implementation of Artificial Intelligence. AI Con follows the themes of Applied AI, examining everything from how it can
add value to organisations, to the next generation of AI and what startups in the space should know. The conference featured some of the top figures in the field, with other leading professionals, including from Microsoft and AWS, streaming in from across the globe. Speaking at AI Con, Director of Innovation at Kainos, Tom Gray said: “The UK has an ambitious AI strategy that gives Northern Ireland both the permission to be ambitious and the opportunity to be seen to lead in the application of AI. With Belfast now being a recognised tech hub, and with more and more businesses choosing Northern Ireland, AI Con platformed debate to ignite discussion and the sharing of ideas with a bigger audience.”
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Technology, supply chain and engineering roles saw highest salary increases in Northern Ireland in 2021 Technology, engineering and supply chain roles have secured the top salary increases over the past 12 months in Northern Ireland, according to new data released by recruiting company Hays. In a list of the top 20 roles which received the highest increases, ten were in technology, six were in engineering and manufacturing, three were in procurement, supply chain & logistics, and one was in the legal sector. This compares to a UKwide survey which was dominated by tech, with fifteen of the roles with the highest salary increases in technology, highlighting the high demand for IT professionals across the country. In Northern Ireland, supply chain managers saw an increase of 18.2%, the highest increase in the top 20, followed by data analysts. Other roles which experienced above average increases included heads of legal, technology product owners and process engineers. Speaking about the findings, John Moore, Managing Director of Hays in Northern Ireland, said: “The high demand for staff coupled with low levels of skilled talent in a number of sectors means upwards pressure on pay rates is likely to continue into 2022.”
