BM Technologies has been featured in TechRound’s latest founder round-up on what UK startups want to see from the next Prime Minister.
The article brings together views from UK business leaders on the practical conditions startups and SMEs need if Britain is going to remain a serious place to start, grow and scale a company. The common thread is clear: founders are not asking for empty slogans. They want policy that makes it easier to invest, hire, train and plan beyond the next few months.
James Bannon on the cost of employment
James Bannon, Co-Founder and Operations Manager at BM Technologies, used his contribution to focus on something that affects growing SMEs directly: the cost of creating jobs.
“Make it cheaper to employ people, not harder.”
That is the heart of the issue for businesses like ours. Employer National Insurance, hiring costs and the wider cost of employment all affect the decisions SMEs make about recruitment, apprenticeships and local training. When the cost of each role rises, the money available to create the next role falls.
Why this matters in Rochdale
BM Technologies is a growing managed IT and cyber security provider based in Rochdale. We want to recruit locally, train young people and build long-term careers in the community. That ambition is not unusual. Across the UK, thousands of SMEs are prepared to do the work of creating jobs, developing skills and investing in people.
The challenge is that policy often makes those decisions harder than they need to be. If the next government wants more employment, more apprenticeships and more private-sector growth, it should give SMEs more room to hire. That could mean stronger Employment Allowance, targeted NI relief for firms taking on new staff, or better incentives for apprenticeships and first-time hires.
Startups need stability, not soundbites
TechRound’s wider article highlights a broader concern from the startup community: businesses need stable decision-making, simpler regulation, better access to capital and a government that understands how fast growing companies actually operate.
For BM Technologies, the message is straightforward. SMEs do not need government to create every job directly. They need government to stop making job creation more expensive for the businesses already willing to invest, hire and train.
Source credit: This BM Technologies article is based on James Bannon’s contribution to TechRound’s feature, “What Do UK Startups Want To See From Keir Starmer’s Replacement In Early September?”
Featured image credit: TechRound, used from the original source article.