More than one in 10 jobs (13.22%) in Scotland are now in the digital sector, according to new data by job search engine Adzuna, analysed by Tech Nation for the UK’s Digital Economy Council.
Since January 2022, there have been more than 20,000 tech roles advertised in Scotland, with average advertised salaries hitting £52,893 across the country.
This year alone, Scottish start-ups and scale-ups have raised £281m in funding - more than the total raised for the whole of 2019 (£253m.)
Growth in Scottish tech jobs comes as the country as a whole is seeing an increase in tech roles. There were around 870,000 tech and digital job vacancies available across between January to May 2022, the highest number ever recorded since Adzuna began collecting data in May 2012.
Since April, the number of open roles has adjusted down slightly (-1.59%), but hiring continues to remain 42% higher than in 2021.
While some tech companies have signalled plans to cut staff numbers, the tech sector as a whole continues to grow, in part due to the rapid rise of adoption of digital tools and services by organisations and enterprises that began during the pandemic.
For every 'no experience' tech and digital role advertised, there are approximately eight senior roles available, despite the fact there are more STEM graduates in the UK than there are entry-level roles in the industry.
According to a survey carried out by Tech Nation and YouGov, 64% of people who work in UK tech said that having tech skills was essential for job security. As well, 26% believe that up-skilling themselves in new digital or tech skills will allow them to earn more in the future.
Of the 16% of respondents who picked up a new tech skill since the pandemic, people have chosen to learn coding or cloud technologies, whilst others have learned data visualisation skills.
There are nearly five million people working in UK tech startups and scale-ups, with regions across the UK enjoying strong hiring growth for tech and digital positions.
Source: Regional split of tech vacancies and advertised salaries for Q1 2022, Adzuna, Tech Nation
London continues to have the highest number of tech and digital jobs available, with over 170,000 advertised in the first quarter of 2022 and the highest average advertised salary at £75,223.
Highly-paid tech jobs aren’t just available in London however: five regions across the UK have average advertised tech salaries of over £50,000 - Scotland, South East, North West, South West and West Midlands.
Software development continues to be the most in-demand tech role in the UK, increasing 56% compared to 2019’s advertised tech vacancies.
This high demand comes from both tech and non-tech companies because software developers are essential to all areas of technology - they create, design and build the programs and applications that many businesses rely on.
Other in-demand jobs include business analysts (+650% compared to 2019), data analysts (+520%) and product managers (+710%). Business analysts are now the second most in-demand tech role in the UK, having overtaken engineers.
Top 10 available UK tech jobs
Software developer
Business analyst
Java developer
DevOps engineer
Project manager
Engineer
Data analyst
Product manager
Consultant
IT system architect
Security roles are also increasing rapidly, particularly for cyber security engineers with demand doubling compared to 2019. This suggests that companies are shoring up defences against increasing cyber threats with an 11% increase in security incidents last year compared to 2020. Security is now in the top five most demand skills when it comes to tech, increasing 671% since 2019.
Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “The UK is enjoying a golden age in tech - not only are we one of the best places in the world to start digital businesses, but there are countless opportunities for people to enter the sector and flourish in their career.
“We’re working hard to open doors for people from all walks of life so that they can gain the skills and knowledge needed to make the most of our booming tech industry.”
Dr George Windsor, data and research director at Tech Nation, added: “The UK is continuing to be the leading light for tech in Europe and the scale of exciting job opportunities across the country is a reflection of that.
“It’s interesting to see how companies are responding to changing challenges, such as the rise in the demand for data skills and an increase in security skills across the board.”
Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free.
