Zero Gravity For Scottish Jobs Outlook

Scotland remains one of the worst-performing regions for jobs, according to employment agency Manpower.

Lower oil prices are citied as a reason for this. The positive news is that Scotland's call centres have earned a good reputation. Financial services and retail companies are among those outsourcing to Scotland.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 2,101 UK employers. It asks whether employers intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming quarter. It is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind and is used as a key economic statistic by both the Bank of England and the UK government.

Amanda White, Operations Manager at Manpower UK, says: “Scotland continues to underperform the UK’s average rate of hiring intentions. This is the third quarter in a row that Scotland’s Outlook has not made it into positive territory, which corresponds with the depressed oil price over the last few months. We have observed that there are more engineering candidates than available jobs in Scotland and there is a risk that unless demand for these skilled job seekers picks up again, they may relocate, taking their talent to other regions where engineering talent shortages remain. This could lead to longer term problems for the Scottish Manufacturing and Engineering sectors.”

“However, it’s not all bad news. We’ve previously talked about how Scotland, and in particular the big cities, are increasingly becoming known for their friendly and experienced call centre staff. This is driving an outsourcing industry that is starting to thrive, as firms sell their call centre capabilities to other businesses, with many running campaigns for financial services companies or retail companies. These can be short-term campaigns lasting a matter of weeks or longer-term ongoing operations. As a result, there is strong demand for candidates with customer service or outbound sales skills and experience.”