SCOTLAND’s tech sector is growing faster than the rest of the UK with a 25% rise in demand in six months – ahead of the 10% increase in the rest of the UK – according to a new report.
The UK Tech Talent Tracker from Accenture said that while job listings were well behind pre-pandemic levels, demand for emerging technologies is fuelling jobs recovery.
This is the first time the tech job market has grown since the pandemic, and Edinburgh saw the UK’s biggest growth with open roles up by more than half (51%), followed by Bristol (48%) and Glasgow (33%).
The tracker, which analysed LinkedIn’s professional network data, recorded more than 93,000 tech jobs openings across the UK in July 2021, up from 85,000 in January.
However, the listings are still well below pre-pandemic levels and are 76% lower than 2019. Despite the significant decline, Accenture said demand for skills in emerging technology is now driving regrowth in the tech job market.
In Scotland, demand is driven principally by job openings for artificial intelligence (AI), which was up 84%, Blockchain (125%) and Cloud (up 44%).
As organisations focus on governance and respond to data privacy regulations, jobs in digital ethics and responsibility also shown a significant increase with the Scottish data demonstrating a 74% rise in demand for governance roles compared to a 27% average across the UK.
Michelle Hawkins, Accenture Scotland’s managing director, said: “As Scotland continues to focus its economic recovery on the development and implementation of digital technology, these latest figures are very encouraging.
“There is huge opportunity to meet new business needs post pandemic through investment in technology roles and the figures suggest Scottish companies are rising to the challenge.
“Coupled with this is the increasing recognition of data responsibility and digital ethics as an area of expertise to be nurtured, developed and applied.
“As we look forward to COP26, and how we build business models that are more sustainable, this is an exciting and important area of growth for Scotland.”
Accenture’s technology infrastructure and engineering lead in the UK, Emma Kendrew, added: “The surge in tech professionals with vital skills will help drive the economic recovery.
“The pandemic has quickly ushered in a digital economy, and it will require a new generation of technologists to move forward.
“Organisations will likely hire or upskill software engineers as they invest in core technology to reinvent how they operate and what experiences they provide completely built around their new platforms.”