Edinburgh's science and technology workforce
Life sciences and electronics employ more than
12,000 people across Edinburgh City Region, a quarter of them in
research and development.
Edinburgh has one of the highest
concentrations of human stem cell scientists and researchers in the
UK, with Edinburgh and Midlothian recognised internationally as
centres of bioinformatics and genomics research.
The highly skilled workforce and large number
of graduates are key strengths of the
Scottish life sciences and electronics sectors. Scotland is home to
8.9% of the UK population, but generates 12.4% of first biological
sciences degrees and 14.3% of first medicine and dentistry
degrees.
Scotland also produces over 5,000 engineering,
software and technology graduates each year.
In both life sciences and electronics, labour
costs in Scotland are competitive compared to Europe.
The average gross annual salary of a worker in
the Scottish electronics sector is £27,922. Productivity is
high in the Scottish electronics sector with gross value add (GVA)
per employee of £65,424, compared to an average for manufacturing
of £60,700.1
1Scottish Government (2008)
Scottish Annual Business Statistics
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