Scottish Industry
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Scotland's industrial make-up is both rich and varied. Gone are the days when Scotland’s economy was dominated by just a few traditional industries, such as coalmining, steel-making, shipbuilding and heavy engineering. Today Scotland has a modern industry and economy.
Finance
Finance is one of the biggest employers in the country, providing over 97,000 jobs (about 5% of the Scottish workforce), along with a similar number in support industries. A mainstay of the Scottish economy since the 1700s, today financial services are worth more than £20 billion a year and account for 8% of Scottish GDP. And so despite its geographical size, Scotland is the sixth largest investment management centre in Europe and 15th largest in the world, based on institutional equities. No less than half of the country’s top 20 companies are financial services providers and the country is home to three of the UK’s top five life assurance and pensions companies, not to mention The Royal Bank of Scotland, which is the second largest bank in Europe and one of the world’s top 20.
Tourism
The only other industry whose employment figures can compete with finance’s is tourism, which employs a staggering 197,000 people. Yet it’s still regarded as one of Scotland’s most promising growth industries, perhaps because only 8% of that tourism comes from overseas … so far.
Where do people come? To the Highlands, Edinburgh and Glasgow mostly, to see the museums and art galleries, leisure and theme parks and award-winning visitor centres. A competitive, world-class industry, the sector generated almost £4.5bn in 2002.
Energy Sector
The last of the big three by employment is Scotland’s energy sector. Ever since the discovery of oil in the North Sea in the early 1970s, oil and gas have played a major part in the country’s fortunes. Today, the industry employs over 100,000 people in some 2000 companies, and whilst the heyday of production may have been and gone, there’s still plenty to look forward to. It’s estimated that reserves of oil currently stand at around two billion tonnes – as much as has been produced in the last 25 years. And the fact that many of the world's unexplored oil fields lie under very deep water, an area where Scotland has specialist drilling expertise, means that there’s plenty of opportunity further afield too.
By contrast, the development of renewable energy technologies in Scotland is still in its infancy, but it’s thought that in the future this sector could play just as significant a role as oil and gas do today. Renewable power generation in Scotland currently stands at nearly 5GW, but there’s the potential to reach 59.1GW, making it Europe’s richest renewable energy resource. Onshore wind is the most widespread and cheapest form of renewable energy, but other sources include offshore wind, wave and tidal stream.
Smart Performers
From some of the biggest industries in the country by employment, to the fastest growing – life sciences, microelectronics, optoelectronics and the creative industries are all racing ahead.
Life Sciences
Scotland’s life sciences industry is growing at 30% per annum (compared to a European average of 15%) and currently employs over 25,000 people in about 360 organisations. Widely regarded as one of the most vibrant of its kind in Europe, Scotland is home to 20% of the UK's life sciences companies. And the spirit of innovation symbolised by Dolly the Sheep (Science "Breakthrough of the Year" 1996), continues unabated with ground-breaking research into, amongst other things, cancer, heart disease, and the causes of Alzheimer’s.
Electronics
For over 30 years, Scotland has played a leading role in microelectronics. Today, it has a large concentration of semiconductor companies and boasts world class expertise in silicon microfabrication, device modelling, organometallics, MEMS, ultrafast systems and III-V semiconductors. Dedicated resources such as The Alba Centre, which hosts the Institute for System Level Integration and the Virtual Component Exchange, add to the country’s reputation as a centre for microelectronics excellence.
Scotland’s optoelectronics industry is currently valued at around £600 million. Already one of the leaders in the rapidly growing technology sector, the industry is set for huge expansion as optoelectronics transforms the future of medicine, transportation, construction and computers. Its winning combination of home-grown expertise and world-class research, supported by a network of technology incubation centres, will ensure that Scotland’s optoelectronics sector capitalises on its pioneering role to-date.
Creative Industries
The last of the speedsters is the Creative Industries, which appropriately enough covers games, radio and television, new media, film, music production, design, publishing, architecture, advertising, arts and cultural industries. In total, the sector employs over 100,000 people in Scotland, boasts an annual turnover of £5 billion and contributes 4% to Scottish GDP. Outwith London and the South East, nowhere else in the UK has a greater share of creative industries employment … and it’s going to get larger. Over the next three years, the sector is expected to grow at 10% per annum in Scotland, with rates up to 20% per annum predicted for companies involved in digital content production. Who knows what the anticipated explosive growth in wireless gaming will mean for Scotland’s already prolific computer games industry.
Strength in Depth
Impressive yes, but it’s not the whole story. Scotland’s also home to: a renowned food and drinks sector employing over 47,000 people, generating sales of £7.3bn (£3bn for whisky alone); a rejuvenated textiles industry employing 30,000 people; a significant chemicals industry (one of the country’s main exports) employing some 7000 people; a vibrant and growing telecommunications industry, employing over 12,000 people in 100 international and Scottish companies; an important Forest Industries Cluster and over 200 call centres, making Scotland Europe's leading call centre location. Why so popular? Because of the Scots legendary warmth of personality of course.
Links:
Biotechnology
Chemicals
Communication Technologies
Creative Industries
Energy
Financial Services
Food and Drink
Forest Industries
Microelectronics
Optoelectronics
Textiles
Tourism
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