Sky To Create 400 Jobs At Leeds Tech Hub

Sky is to open a new technology centre in Leeds and expand its digital education programmes in both the north of England and the capital.

Four hundred new jobs will be created at the tech hub, located at Allied London’s Leeds Dock development in the city, which will focus on creating new applications and websites for Sky, which hopes to create new ways for customers to access content on multiple devices.

Leeds is already home to a number of Sky’s operations, most notably gambling, and the broadcaster claims the creation of Sky@Leeds Dock will help establish a “world class” tech centre in the north.

Sky Leeds hub

“With our investment in Leeds, we’re creating one of the largest digital communities in the UK,” said Jeremy Darroch, Sky Group chief executive.

The city will also host a second ‘Software Engineering Academy’, the first of which opened in London four years ago. Twenty-four graduate places and eight apprenticeships a year will be up for grabs, with participants offered hands-on training, on the job experience and opportunities to create software across Sky, which will also increase the number of places at its London academy

“We are looking forward to bringing hundreds of new jobs to the city and giving young people the opportunity to build their skills and help shape the digital services of the future,” added Darroch.

The move has been welcomed by the government, which has stated ambitions of rebalancing the economy away from London and creating a ‘Northern Powerhouse’.

“I’m delighted that Sky is furthering its investment in Leeds with the creation of 400 new jobs and a new technology hub,” said Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Business, Skills and Innovation. “The announcement is a boost to the digital economy of the entire Northern Powerhouse, and will undoubtedly help to cement Leeds as a leading technology cluster.”

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