Digital jobs in Edinburgh and Glasgow growing again
The digital tech sector recovery
In a new research conducted by Tech Nation for the Government’s Digital Economy Council it has been revealed more than a fifth of the workforce of each city is now employed in digital tech at a time when tech companies are starting to recover in confidence and begin to advertise jobs again.
Scotland’s tech sector growth has been outgripping that of London and the South East, for several years now. There are also encouraging signs of recovery with big announcements such as Amazon announcing that it would create hundreds of new roles in Fife and Dundee.
This is in line with the national trend with number of jobs advertised in the digital space rising by 36% between 7th June and 9th August 2020.
Before the Covid19 pandemic and the lockdown, the digital tech sector had been advertising 150,000 jobs a week in the first three months of the year, according to data from jobs website Adzuna. The number fell in line with all other sectors but have since recovered to reach 90,297. Tech is the UK sector posting the highest number of vacancies, after healthcare.
In-demand roles in Scotland
According to Adzuna, 16.5% of advertised jobs in Scotland are in tech with jobs such as engineer in Edinburgh increasing by a quarter. In Glasgow devops engineers and engineers advertised roles are up by 85% and 84% respectively.
UK continues to create unicorns and see strong venture capital investment
In 2020 VC funding has reached €8.5bn to date, according to Tech Nation’s Data Commons. This compares to €4.0bn for Germany, and €3.1bn attracted by French startups in 2020.
There are 120 companies now valued at between $250m and $1bn. Many investors ares still looking to invest in tech, helped by the Government’s £250m Future Fund in some cases.
Salaries
2019 median salaries for digital tech roles across the UK - £39,000
2019 median salaries for digital tech roles in Edinburgh - £44,938,
2019 median salaries for digital tech roles in Glasgow - £40,000
Edinburgh’s median salary is the highest outside London, where the median digital tech salary in 2019 was £55,000, growing 3% from £53,296 the previous year.
Factoring in the cost of living, cities outside London can have significant attractions from an employment perspective. Edinburgh and Glasgow are the third and fourth best value place in the UK for someone working in tech to live and work. For Data Scientist and Infrastructure Engineer roles, Edinburgh was more attractive than London when living costs are taken into account.
Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said:
"These new figures demonstrate the strength and depth of our tech sector as an engine of job creation kickstarting our economy as we emerge from the pandemic. We are a nation of innovators, entrepreneurs and inventors, and technology will underpin our infrastructure revolution of national renewal to unite and level up the UK. This government is backing people to succeed by investing heavily in cutting-edge research, digital skills and digital infrastructure to support our economic recovery."
UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart said:
“It is fantastic to see our multi-billion pound digital tech sector not only continue to thrive but make a vital contribution to economic recovery as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. This report shows Scotland is a competitive choice for both companies and individuals creating high-quality, well-paid jobs. We are at the forefront in pushing the boundaries in areas such as artificial intelligence, big data, cyber security, fintech and gaming. The UK Government is proud to champion the digital tech sector and will continue to support its growth in Scotland.”
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels
