AI vacancies soar as UK leads Europe in tech start-ups

The UK’s drive to be a world leader in artificial intelligence has triggered a major jobs boom in the country, with the number of AI-related vacancies reaching nearly 120,000; more than six times higher than its nearest European rival, France.

So says a new study from Reboot SEO Agency, which analysed data from employment portal Indeed.com, by inputting a number of AI-related key terms, including “machine learning” and “reinforcement learning”, to discover which European countries have the most AI-jobs overall.

The UK, on 117,898 vacancies is way out in front, driven by the 1,400 start-up AI companies that have launched in Britain in this year alone.

In second place is France with 20,398 job vacancies and 453 start-up AI companies, according to Funds Europe. Third is the Netherlands with 14,804 vacancies and was reported by Tracxn to have an impressive 453 start-up AI companies.

In fourth position is Germany with 11,687 job vacancies and 278 start-up companies in 2021 referenced by applied ai. In fifth position is Belgium with 5,211 AI job vacancies; Tracxn also identifies 178 start-up AI companies.

They are followed by Ireland (4,792), Romania (4,532), Poland (3,008), Italy (2,644) and Spain (2,426).

According to Government figures, the UK is ranked third in the world for private venture capital investment into AI companies, behind the US and China, (2019 investment into the UK reached almost £2.5bn) and home to a third of Europe’s total AI companies.

The huge growth in AI has certainly not been lost on the UK ministers; last month the Government outlined its ten-year plan for the sector in the National AI Strategy.

In response, director and chief executive of The Alan Turing Institute Professor Sir Adrian Smith said: “The UK’s first National AI Strategy is a major moment and we need to capitalise on this momentum to advance the UK’s international reputation in this broad discipline.

“The Alan Turing Institute is actively supporting the most ambitious agenda of developing transformative new AI technologies. We are proud of creating a dynamic, collaborative community of diverse researchers and are growing world-leading capabilities in responsible, safe, ethical and inclusive AI research and innovation.

“These technologies are already improving lives and their prominence continues to grow in our society. To ensure they go from strength to strength it’s critical we foster a sustainable, inclusive, multidisciplinary UK AI ecosystem that attracts people from all walks of life and allows them to flourish.”