Finding employment

Thanks to the Edinburgh City Region’s varied economy, many employees are able to find work in a sector that best reflects their aspirations and skills. Here is an introduction to some of the city region’s key sectors:

Key Sectors

Science and technology

Edinburgh City Region has a long history of innovation and is one of Europe's top ten locations for science and technology. Past and present breakthroughs include Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned mammal, anaesthetic, pioneered by physician James Simpson, logarithms, invented by John Napier, and James Clerk Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. 

Creative industries

Edinburgh’s “Creative Environment” includes the Festivals, theatres, retail, architecture, heritage and film, including the new Screen Academy.

Financial services

Some of the world’s biggest and most respected financial services organisations are based in Edinburgh, with operations in global markets including Europe, the United States and Asia Pacific. It is home to two of Europe’s top ten banks - the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS - and is a major international centre for fund management.

Tourism

Scotland's capital city has an award-winning reputation as one of the most attractive destinations in the world, making it a magnet for tourists and international investment. Edinburgh is home of the Scottish Parliament and is the world's Festival City, a World Heritage Site and the world's first City of Literature. It attracts around 4m visitors a year and injects £1.73bn annually into the local economy.

Public sector

Edinburgh is a powerful centre of national and local government with a sophisticated public sector infrastructure serving both Scotland and the UK.

Within many sectors, there are employment incentive schemes to assist students and professionals in finding employment.