Hello! Welcome to the brand new TechSPARK website.
It might all look a bit different but our mission remains unchanged. We’re here to shine a light on tech innovation and celebrate the brilliant people and companies that power the tech and digital industries in our part of the world. We aim to connect and inform all of those who work in tech in the region by providing news, profiles, events and resources – like our events calendar, jobs board and a lot more.
We’ve always been (and always will be) committed to helping to address the challenges the industry faces. As many of you will know, at this stage in the region’s growth, the biggest issue we face is around training, attracting and retaining talent.
Ben Shorrock, MD – We want to make sure everyone has access to the tools they need to grow. The cluster has changed so much in the 8 years since TechSPARK was founded by a team of committed volunteers, now we need to adapt to be able to offer a programme and a platform that is still able to support everyone – from the many exciting new startups we see coming through year on year, to our fast-growing scaleups and the successful global brands that call the West of England home.
To address these challenges, we’re making some changes in key areas.
Bristol Calling – We’re going to be upscaling and better integrating our jobs, events and content with our sister-site BristolCalling.com – who’s mission is to attract talent from outside the region to Bristol & Bath.
Jobs Board – We’re moving to a subscription model for jobs posting, this allows us to develop and further iterate a platform that showcases the companies here, while allowing them to promote their own culture, adapt their hiring policies to find the best talent and target individuals who want to work for them. Job seekers will still be able to access it for free, but now they’ll be able to sign up for job alerts, and see targeted jobs based on their skillset and favourite companies.
Ash Wheeler, Head of Partnerships – Bringing companies in and giving them what they need to attract talent is Key to driving growth here. We’re making a platform that can show-off and advertise the job prospects here in the city. We’re giving organisations the chance to show off their culture and ethos so that they, and the talent, can find each other and be sure they fit together.
Of course, not everything needs to change here. We’re still committed to delivering relevant and informative content through the site and our news and features will remain at the forefront of what we provide here.
Geraint Evans, Editor – An essential part of this region’s wonderful connectivity is being in the know on what’s going on with everyone else. We’ve given so many tiny startups their first bit of press, highlighted the stories of exciting scaleups and watched so many of them grow into national and international brands where news about them affects more than just our community. It’s a privilege to be able to cover this region and I can’t wait to see what I’ll be writing about in the months to come.
As well as continuing to promote events across the region through our events calendar, we’re going to carry on running more events than you can shake a stick at. South West Founders, TechSPARK, BathSPARK, Bristol & Bath Cyber, Techie Brekkies, HLS Brekkies and, of course, The SPARKies still a crucial part of educating and connecting the cluster.
Sarah Keates, Event Manager – We organise so many events (70+ a year!) across multiple streams that you’d think you’d run out of things to talk about. We don’t though! I’m constantly amazed by the stories I hear and how no matter how many times I go to the same events there’s always something new to learn and some new people pioneering some brand-new, totally awesome thing.
