Look at Scotland

Scotland has a population of just over 5 million in an area of 30,000 square miles that includes 600 square miles of freshwater lochs. The maximum distance north to south is 275 miles and from east to west 150 miles. It has 2,300 miles of coast, 790 islands (with the largest being Shetland and Orkney to the north and the Hebrides to the west), and a 60-mile land border with England.

There are 150,000 enterprises in Scotland, in which 30 per cent of people of working age are managers and executives, 11 per cent are supervisors, 23 per cent are skilled and semi-skilled, 12 per cent are unskilled and 6 per cent work for themselves; leaving nearly 20 per cent of long-term unemployed. Total expenditure for Scotland is £40.9 billion, while total receipts (excluding North Sea revenues) are £31.6 billion, leaving a net deficit of £9.3 billion that is found through borrowing.

The population is around 5 million, but is expected to fall during the next decade. The working-age population is 62 per cent of the whole with another 19 per cent being children and a further 19 per cent retired. There is an average of 170 people per square mile, with the majority living in the central area around Glasgow and Edinburgh. Population densities vary from 3,300 per sq km in Glasgow to eight per sq km in the Highlands.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is around £65,000 million (£12,500 per capita and up slightly on last year) for a labour force of just under 2.5 million people (75 per cent of all those of working age). During 2004, service output increased by 2 per cent while construction increased by more than 7 per cent. Manufacturing sectors that did well included chemicals, transport equipment, mechanical engineering and metals, while service sectors that increased output included transport storage and communication, retail and wholesale, other services, and hotels and catering.

The most successful sectors for export included food and beverages, business services, radio/TV and communication equipment, office machinery and chemicals.

Scotland is home to 20 per cent of the biotech companies in the UK and is recognised as one of the fastest-growing regions for start-ups. A rapidly growing optoelectronics industry employs around 5,000 people. The Scottish food and drink industry employs over 55,000 people in more than 1,500 businesses.

Scotland’s semiconductor manufacturers employ over 5,500 people, and suppliers to the industry employ 2,700, with a 47 per cent share of the UK capacity. In all, some 150 companies employing more than 15,000 people are involved in the telecommunications sector. The electronics industry employs 41,600 people directly, with a further 42,200 employed indirectly in the supply infrastructure.

Scotland has around 200 call centre sites, including 18 outsourcing companies, employing about 40,000 people. It is the sixth largest equity centre in Europe, currently managing £350 billion in funds. Tourism is a major industry, supporting around 9 per cent of all employment. Over 20 million tourists visit annually, spending almost £5 billion.

Although the oil and gas industry is facing a decline, it is hoped that those leaving the industry may provide skilled workers in the ICT, renewable energy, business tourism and the creative sectors.

Scotland has 13 universities, seven specialist higher education institutions and 46 further education colleges. Over half of young people in Scotland embark on further education – that’s nearly 300,000 students, of whom 55 per cent gain honours degrees. Science, medicine, dentistry, biological sciences and IT courses are very popular.

Opportunities and skills shortages

Many employment vacancies prove hard to fill, including construction, engineering, transport, nursing and childcare assistants, hairdressers and travel agents, while most small businesses believe that a shortage of skilled trades people has worsened recently.

Construction activity over the next decade will include housing, a harbour and the M74 extension, as well as numerous other developments planned. Skills shortages across all trades mean that 75 per cent of construction companies have recruitment difficulties.

Slow recruitment and redundancies continue to occur as employers strive for greater competitiveness and performance, particularly in distribution, hotels and restaurants, public administration, education and health.

Salaries

A rough guide to annual salaries is given below. This is inevitably very general and there will be variations between industries and also in various parts of Scotland. It should be noted that the pay gap between men and women in Scotland is the largest in Europe.

Manual £12,000 to £22,000

Semi-skilled £15,000 to £25,000

Skilled and supervisory £18,000 to £28,000

Managerial £20,000 to £40,000

Executive £38,000 and upwards

House price guide

The following prices are a rough guide only to property prices and are liable to overnight change as financial factors in the country as well as in the region affect housing.

Location 2-bed flat 2-bed terrace 3-bed semi 4-bed detached

City £80,000 £100,000 £180,000 £300,000

Town £60,000 £80,000 £120,000 £250,000

Country £40,000 £60,000 £80,000 £200,000