Grow Wellington looking for high tech talent in Texas

6 March, 2014

Grow Wellington looking for high tech talent in Texas

Grow Wellington is pitching the region as the land of opportunity for tech talent and investors at the South by Southwest (SXSW) trade show in Texas this week.

“We have over 500 high tech jobs available now in Wellington across a wide range of businesses and sectors,” says Grow Wellington Chief Executive Gerard Quinn. “Wellington is the high tech capital with the greatest number of New Zealand’s fastest growing businesses in this sector located in the city and, although we have quality local high tech talent, this rapid growth means we need a great deal more.”

Mr Quinn says immediate high tech job opportunities in leading companies, combined with Wellington’s reputation as an innovative, well-connected centre with a great culture and lifestyle, will make it a winner in attracting international tech talent as well and investment and investors.

The SXSW trade show in Austin, Texas from 8 - 12 March is expected to attract around 70,000 people over four days. Grow Wellington will be joining NZTech, Immigration New Zealand and NZTE who are spearheading a New Zealand private and public sector presence at the show. Wellington companies Xero and Wipster will also be attending along with several business associations.

Shortages of tech talent are being felt internationally, says Mr Quinn. “While businesses drive innovation, it is talented people that drive businesses. Local talent, expats, migrants and international students not only contribute to the transfer of knowledge and new ideas, but they can act as catalysts in expanding international networks.”

Further background information
Wellington is making its mark internationally with the region having 16 out of a total of 40 New Zealand companies on the 2013 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific index. The index ranks the top 500 technology businesses according to their revenue growth over the past three years and sets the standard for high growth technology businesses in the Asia Pacific region. The Wellington region has four companies in the top 100; Alphero leads the Wellington businesses at 22nd place with a growth rate of 1118% for the period; GreenButton is at 24, ENZEC at 69 and OrbitRemit is at 81. Other Wellington companies on the index are; OptimalBI (101), Xero (104), Snipesoft (122), BigEars (143), Psoda (206), Freeman Media (212), Carnival Labs (288), Optimal Product (290), Times-7 Research (343), TOUCH/CAST (345), Trio Software (397) and Seekom (474).

Wellington businesses feature prominently in the TIN 100 Report which measures the performance of New Zealand’s largest export-focused technology companies. In fact in 2013 more than half of the entire revenue growth of the TIN100 across the country came from the Wellington region with the Wellington TIN 100 companies growing close to three times faster than any other region.

ENDS

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