Career development and flexible working are now considered more important than earning potential when it comes to taking a job in the North West’s technology or digital sectors, new research has found.

Manchester Digital’s Skills Audit revealed that only 13% of technology workers in the region would view earning more money as a key reason to stay in a job or move to a new role.

In comparison, nearly half (49%) value opportunities to train and develop their career, while 46% much prefer to work somewhere offering flexible working.

In fact, money has become a decidedly less important job focus for the North West’s tech sector with social benefits (34%), remote working opportunities (33%) and access to better technology (32%) all coming out as more favourable than a higher wage among workers.

This will come as welcome news to the industry after the same report found that more companies are putting increased focus on staff development and training, particularly among younger workers, with nearly a quarter of North West technology and digital businesses now preferring to run their own apprenticeships and training schemes.

Katie Gallagher, managing director at Manchester Digital – the trade body for digital and technology companies in the region – said: “The digital and technology sectors are an exciting area for people to get into, particularly in the North West, so it is not surprising that more workers are putting increasing focus on their career development.

“We’re in a great situation in the North West, and Manchester in particular, in that we are attracting huge investment and interest from the technology sector, yet the cost of living in the region is below that of London so money is less of an issue. While we are seeing some pressure on wages because of the skills gap, finding that this isn’t a major concern for workers is reassuring for the future of this exciting industry.”

A number of Manchester’s best companies that provide services to the eCommerce industry will be exhibiting at this years eCommerce Show North.

MEC, CTI Digital, Space48, Endless Gain and UKFast are just a few of the names set to take stands at the show to help drive new business leads and network.

The eCommerce Show North will be taking place across two days at EventCity in Manchester on 11th & 12th October 2017. The expo will feature some of the biggest names in online retail sharing their expertise through seminars, workshops, demonstrations and more. Confirmed speakers include Mick Style, CEO at MEC Manchester, and Phil Horn, Sales Director at Steamhaus. Alongside this, a number of networking rooms will also be set up, creating a fantastic opportunity for buyers, suppliers and new clients to make beneficial connections.

The free to attend event is set to be the biggest ever eCommerce gathering outside of London, and is heavily anticipated within the Manchester eCommerce community.

Darren Ratcliffe, Founder of Digitl, a leading Magento agency, expressed how the community aspect of the expo makes it a heavily anticipated occasion: ‘eCommerce Show North is something our city has needed for years – and it’s great at last to have the event taking place. The North has some fantastic businesses here to support people with their multi-channel operations.’

For some, the existence of the expo itself is an exciting indicator of industry changes. Lawrence Jones, CEO of cloud hosting company UKFast, said, ‘A decade ago there was a perceived gap in digital capability between North and South, whether that was correct or not. Manchester has proven itself as a hub for eCommerce excellence, with brands like Missguided, Late Rooms, BooHoo, AO.com, and of course UKFast.’

Located next to the Trafford Centre, eCommerce Show North will be spread across 6000m2. All stands and seminars will be found in one huge, easy to navigate space, including networking and coffee areas.

Martyn Collins from eCommerce Show North said, ‘The North is home to so many influential names in eCommerce, and we are thrilled to create a platform for them all to come together. The eCommerce industry in the north has experienced unprecedented growth over the past few years, with research from eBay confirming that Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire are the top three regions in the UK for the number of online businesses. EventCity will give everyone from the small start-ups to the industry giants a place to teach, network and observe. Connections made over the two days could impact the next decade of eCommerce dealings. The sector is booming and shows no sign of slowing down – Northern talent won’t be left behind, so there’s no better time than now to put it in the spotlight.’

To register head over to the eCommerce Show North website, fill out your details and your badge will be emailed directly to you. Alternatively, you can purchase a priority pass which guarantees your place in one of our theatres ensuring you don’t miss out on that speaker you’ve been looking forward to.

Find out more here https://ecommerceshownorth.co.uk/

Landlords have been given the power to access more in-depth credit information about potential tenants and report payment history of rent payers to credit reference agencies, with the help of a new online tool.

The credit check service, which has been launched by Bury-based business Landlord Secure, will give landlords a far more comprehensive overview of a new applicant’s credit history by revealing if the applicant is in arrears with loans or credit cards, and even how much of their credit they are using.

Previously credit reference agencies were only able to provide identity verification, residential history and publicly available information on a tenant, such as county court judgement or bankruptcies, rather than giving an insight into their current credit status.

The new tool will allow landlords to view how many active accounts an applicant has and which are being paid on time, the total balance of unsecured accounts in the previous month and the “worst status” of any active accounts for a minimum timeframe of three months before an application was made. This will help to assess affordability and mitigate risk.

Landlord Secure has also recently launched another free tool, LateRent, that allows landlords to report payment history to credit reference agencies, enabling them to carry out robust affordability assessments on potential tenants.

This move comes after the Residential Landlords Association called for credit reference agencies to include rental payment history, to aid in the calculation of credit worthiness and affordability of tenants.

LateRent will report a registered tenant’s monthly payment status and this will show up on any future credit searches conducted by financial institutions.

The system also allows tenants who pay on time to build up a good credit history, which could assist them with future mortgage or credit applications.

Steve Burrows, managing director of Landlord Secure, said the new tools will be a benefit to good tenants, while improving the renting process for landlords:

“Chasing late rent payments can be an all too familiar issue for landlords to find themselves in. Tenant vetting checks and referencing services are meant to help them avoid these problems but most are not comprehensive enough and the information they gather doesn’t present an accurate picture of an applicant’s current credit status.

“This new credit check service, coupled with the LateRent platform, will make it much easier for landlords to select the appropriate tenant. It will also enable tenants who pay their rent on time to build up a better credit history– which may help later if they apply for other credit or financial products.”

A pair of lucky Sale Sharks Community Trust apprentice coaches had the chance to meet HRH Prince Harry as they delivered a special rugby training session to school children at Manchester City’s football academy.

Callum Fisher and Conor Steel, both 19, also met the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, at the event to celebrate the CoachCore apprenticeship scheme, which was established in 2012 by Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Designed to give young people, often from deprived backgrounds, the chance to train as coaches, CoachCore offers year-long apprenticeships combining formal learning and on-the-job training with local partner sporting bodies.

The award-winning Sale Sharks Community Trust has been part of the Manchester CoachCore programme since it was set up in January this year. And Callum, from Salford, and Conor, from Sale, were two of the first recruits.

Tom Leader, Sale Sharks Social Inclusion Manager, said: “Since Callum and Conor started working with us they have grown, not only as coaches, but also as individuals and we are so proud to have them working within our Community Team.

“It’s briliant to be a part of the Team Manchester CoachCore programme. It offers a fantastic apprenticeship and plenty of opportunities for the young people that we work with.

“To have the chance to meet Prince Harry and Andy Burnham and to hear them speak so highly of the programme and the great work it is doing was fantastic and I know it meant a lot to Callum and Conor.”

After a successful start to the programme so far, the Sale Sharks Community Trust will be working with more apprentices again next year.

“Since we started with the CoachCore programme we’ve had some fantastic outcomes,” Tom added. “Now we’re all really looking forward to supporting more young people from Greater Manchester.”