Jobhop Jobhop's blog : Norwich Is A Digital City And It's The Place To Be
There’s always been a lot happening in Norwich but because it’s situated in the cul-de-sac of the UK it tended to get looked over.
In 2012, Norwich hosted Social Media Week, but when it tried to get accreditation, the organisers said it wouldn’t be given because “Norwich wasn’t a proper city” The British monarch says that Norwich is a city but their definition of a city was different to the Queen.
"City status is a rare mark of distinction granted by the Sovereign and conferred by Letters Patent. It is granted by personal Command of The Queen, on the advice of Her Ministers. It is for Her Majesty The Queen to decide when a competition for city status should be held. Competitions are usually held on occasions such as important Royal anniversaries."
The organisers of Social Media Week were wrong, not only is Norwich a proper city but it’s also the eBay capital of the UK, that’s why there are so many queues at the post offices! The people in Norwich have got themselves online and are wheeling and dealing in a much bigger way than anywhere else is the UK.
Norwich is also a hive buzzing with Youtubers, there’s the famous Tanya Burr and Jamie Chapman, now husband and wife. The Pixiewoo sisters with their make-up tutorials, Kai Man Wong with his camera review channel, John and Leon with their strenuous work-outs and the hilarious Jack Maate with his cheeky comedy show.
Norwich is an eBay capital buzzing with serious money making Youtubers, not bad for the cul-de-sac of the UK.
It doesn’t stop there, Norwich the digital city has even more to offer, it’s a digital technology cluster. There’s been a big growth in new technology companies; the recent Tech Nation study stated a 21% growth between 2010 and 2014, and the digital businesses contribute £150m to the UK’s economy.
A company who completely understands the need for more digital talent is 3AAA which boasts a digital apprenticeship academy on Surrey Street, NR1. Jobhop has had the pleasure of working with 3AAA delivering training to the students on social media platforms, tools, online advertising, websites, strategies and more. It’s exciting to see the students do what they naturally do with a business hat on.Many young people who look at doing an apprenticeship do not realise that their digital skills are in demand, 3AAA shows them the opportunities in Norwich and then trains them to be business ready. With currently over 14,500 people employed in the digital sector in Norfolk, with predictions to grow in a big way by 2020, young people in Norwich have great opportunities ahead of them and if it’s digital they want to get into then 3AAA is at hand to help.
Norwich has always enjoyed a spot of networking but over the years the digital networks have grown, and networking with the digital crowd is much more fun! Think friendly banter, hotdogs, pizza, beer and wine, that’s how a Norwich digital network rolls, you can see why they’re highly popular. Currently, in Norwich, some well-known ones are SyncNorwich, SyncDevelopHER, Norfolk Indie Game Developers and Norfolk Developers. On top of those, there’s digital conferences, such as NorDevCon, Sync the City and The Norwich Gaming Festival, as well as hosting the first ever #DigitalCity career trail.
So there you have it, Norwich is a digital city, and it’s the place to be, it isn’t just about the mustard anymore!
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Sketch by Chris Spalton
In:- Digital