BJSS Birmingham: Growing skills and delivering tech excellence in the West Midlands
Guest blog by Chris May, Chief Engineer at BJSS #StrongerTechEconomies #Midlands
Research by TechWM suggests that the tech sector in the West Midlands is generating £15bn to the wider regional economy and job market, and is in fact the largest UK tech sector outside of London with over 144,000 people working in tech roles across 2,400 businesses.
Technology and software engineering consultancy BJSS has one of its 26 global offices located in the heart of Birmingham. The West Midlands based office has grown from over a dozen tech specialists to an office of over 100 skilled professionals over the last five years, providing jobs to the tech enthusiasts of the West Midlands and delivering several projects regionally and beyond, across the energy, public sector and gaming industries.
Giving back to the local tech community is also a key activity in the BJSS Birmingham office with regular community engagement enabling further strengthening of the tech sector across the region. The Birmingham office hosts and supports a wide range of tech-focused meetups in collaboration with group organisers on weeknights.
These meetups have included:
Golang Birmingham: A monthly Go programming meet for those wishing to expand their network, connect with fellow Golang professionals and learn about the latest tools, best practices, and innovations in the industry.
Birmingham .NET/Maui User Group: A monthly meet on weeknights for developers interested in or involved with .Net, C#, Azure, MAUI or Xamarin Mobile Development.
Coffee Ops: A monthly meet on weekday mornings for casual coffee and conversation to discuss dev-ops, human-ops, leadership, automation, metrics, infrastructure as code, and all the other things that make development fascinating.
Agile West Midlands: Committed agile professionals come together monthly on weeknights to share best practice and encourage the adoption of agile – including agile games nights.
Women in Tech Birmingham: A monthly meetup on weeknights aimed at challenging STEM stereotypes, gender equality as well as supporting, empowering and promoting women in the tech industry.
Closing the tech talent gap is often a discussion point across the industry, coming together through meetups not only fosters a strong sense of community, but it helps people at all levels of their careers connect with like-minded professionals, developers, engineers, delivery leads, and tech enthusiasts to share knowledge, discuss trends, and grow their tech talent.
In addition to meetups, the BJSS Birmingham team plays an active role in regional technology activity by attending and speaking at local conferences and events to share knowledge, discuss emerging trends, and build connections with other industry peers and leaders.
By engaging with these events, BJSS among many other companies help raise the profile of the West Midlands technology sector, attracting new talent and investment to the area, while sharing valuable experience and insights to build up the existing local talent.
One of the final highlights and success stories out of BJSS Birmingham comes through the School of Code, a coding bootcamp that provides alternative routes into tech careers.
BJSS employs a number of School of Code graduates, and in turn several members of the Birmingham office mentor School of Code attendees, helping to diversify the talent pipeline for people of all backgrounds, skillsets and knowledge to find a place in the technology sector.
It’s essential to BJSS and all regional offices, such as the Birmingham office, to continue building bridges across business, education, and community with the initiatives and activities featured.
Through the combination of local talent, knowledge sharing through meetups, events and mentoring, the tech sector in the West Midlands can continually thrive through and remain a regional hub of innovation in the years to come.
West Midlands Impact Day: Celebrating Tech and Digital Innovation
Welcome to the West Midlands Impact Day, where we proudly showcase a diverse collection of articles and videos highlighting the transformative power of technology and innovation.
techUK champions the tech sector throughout the UK. We work with local authorities, devolved government, and local and national policy makers to advocate for the tech sector in strengthening economic growth and resilience across the nations and regions. Visit the programme page here
techUK’s Scottish Parliamentary Reception, 28 October
This reception will provide attendees, including MSPS, with an insight into techUK’s upcoming work, and the opportunity to discuss how the tech sector can grow in Scotland. Places are limited and we are currently operating a waiting list.
Local Digital Index call for submissions of case studies 2025
Showcase how digital innovation is transforming local communities—submit your case study to techUK’s Local Digital Index today. Be part of shaping a smarter, more connected UK.
UK DES25 will bring together key stakeholders to discuss the role of digital innovation in driving economic growth, business competitiveness, and global talent development. As part of UK DES25, techUK will release the latest data from the Local Digital Index, showing the strength of different local tech ecosystems across the UK
Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
Matt is leading techUK’s work with members and stakeholders across the UK to increase the Local Digital Capital across the UK’s nation and regions, build communities and to ensure that digital technology plays a key part the post-COVID-19 levelling-up recovery.
Prior to joining techUK, Matt worked for several national education charities and membership bodies to develop their regional partnerships with schools, academy trusts, local authorities, and other stakeholders. He’s also worked with local authority leaders and other stakeholders to engage communities, work with elected members and improve public services.
He holds a BA in Politics from the University of York and an MA in International Relations from the University of Leeds. Away from work he’s a keen football fan and golfer.
If you’d like to find out more about our work in the nations and regions please get in touch with Matt:
Programme Manager, SME Engagement and Nations & Regions, techUK
Stephanie Barr
Programme Manager, SME Engagement and Nations & Regions, techUK
Stephanie is the Programme Manager for SME Engagement and Nations & Regions at techUK.
Working across the two programmes, Stephanie develops activities to support the growth and development of tech SMEs and engages with members and stakeholders more broadly to help strengthen regional tech economies.
Prior to joining techUK, Stephanie worked for a political events company and as a Senior Caseworker for an MP. She holds an MA (HONS) in Politics from the University of Glasgow.
Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys travelling, climbing and playing squash.
Programme Manager – Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, techUK
Luke Newcombe
Programme Manager – Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, techUK
Luke joined techUK in September 2025 as a Programme Manager for Local Public Services and Nations and Regions.
Luke works closely with members and stakeholders across industry and government at local, regional and national levels to support collaboration, drive innovation and strengthen tech-enabled public services. His work supports the development of strong local and regional tech economies by helping organisations to engage with public sector challenges, explore emerging technologies and build impactful partnerships.
Prior to joining techUK, Luke worked at Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government’s export development agency. He began by advising SMEs on export strategy to the UK and later focused on connecting Irish businesses with multinational organisations to foster strategic partnerships, drive international growth and support economic development.
Luke holds an MSc in Political Economy from the University of Amsterdam and a BA in European Studies from Trinity College Dublin.
Programme Team Assistant for Public Sector Markets, techUK
Fran Richiusa
Programme Team Assistant for Public Sector Markets, techUK
Fran serves as the Programme Team Assistant within techUK’s Public Sector Market Programmes, where she is responsible for delivering comprehensive team support, managing administrative functions, and fostering strong relationships with members.
Prior to joining techUK in May 2025, Fran built a meaningful career in the charitable and local government sectors. She worked extensively with both victims and perpetrators of crime, and notably led the coordination of Domestic Homicide Reviews across Surrey—an initiative aimed at identifying lessons and preventing future incidents of domestic abuse.
Outside of work, Fran is an avid traveller and a proud cat mum who enjoys unwinding with her feline companions.
