Wilmington becoming a tech hub

16 MAY, 2019 | DELAWARE ONLINE

There’s a huge demand for technology professionals — and for good reason.

Almost everything about our behaviors as consumers is changing, becoming more digital, meaning that the companies that serve us have to become digital as well.

At M&T Bank, we recognize that organizations need to be adaptable in order to find success in the future, a change largely driven by technology.

We recently announced plans to hire hundreds of professionals in Delaware in the next few years, including about 200 technologists. Our goal is to make Wilmington a destination for tech talent, and we plan to embed our new tech hires with all the other employees driving the growth in our downtown offices.

Choosing Wilmington was no mistake. Wilmington offers businesses like ours a unique opportunity to work with local government, higher education, non-government organizations, startups, and other private corporations to create a unique ecosystem conducive to the very tech talent hub we are working to build.

Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Wilmington offers a lower cost of living and stronger sense of community when compared to the top-tier cities competing for the very same tech talent.

So we asked ourselves, how can M&T Bank be part of the solution in cultivating and bringing tech talent to Delaware? To put it simply, we saw an opportunity to bring our use of technology in-house and place it within the communities we serve.

We think this gives us an edge in differentiating our products and services, but it also challenges us to build a strong tech community in Delaware.

To create alternate pipelines for hard-to-find tech talent, we will establish a technology development program in partnership with higher education institutions such as the University of Delaware and other colleges. We have also committed to partnerships with programs such as Zip Code Wilmington, which coaches motivated people from diverse backgrounds into skilled, professional developers.