Demand for professionals in Scotland has risen by 11% year on year to March 2017 according to research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). The data, provided by recruitment software company, Innovantage, revealed that in addition to an uplift in permanent roles, temporary vacancies also experienced an increase, rising 32% year on year to March. Demand for professionals rose notably across a number of sectors including engineering and technology which recorded uplifts of 42% and 21% respectively.

Commenting on the data, Diane Turnbull, Membership Relations Manager for Scotland at APSCo, said: “After months of increased hiring sentiment across Scotland, professional job availability has increased notably in both the permanent and temporary markets. Demand for professionals defied commentators’ predictions that hiring sentiment may dip as the government prepared to invoke Article 50 at the end of last month. APSCo’s findings sit above the national average, with recent figures from the Office for National Statistics revealing that overall employment remained stable, at 74.6%, in the three months to February 2017.”

“Professionals are being increasingly sought after in the engineering sector, with demand rising 42% year on year to March. This uptick in demand is no doubt, at least partially, as a result of growing skills shortages in the sector. In fact, broadband infrastructure business Openreach recently announced plans to recruit more than 195 trainees from across Scotland to expand its network and boost Scotland’s skilled engineering resource for the future. Demand also rose for professionals in the technology sector, with new research suggesting the Scottish IT sector is optimistic for the future and is continuing to grow sales, profits and headcount.”