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4 Employment in Business R&D in Scotland
4.1 This section looks at the role of the people employed in R&D in Scotland. The 764 enterprises identified as performing R&D activities in Scotland in 2003 employed 7,363 staff in R&D, 32% less R&D employment than in 2002.
4.2 The staff can be analysed by their type. Chart F shows the employment by type in R&D for Scotland. The 4,000 scientists and engineers account for the majority of total employment.
Chart F: Employment in R&D Scotland 1995-2003
4.3 Surprisingly few scientists and technicians in employment actually work in R&D: 6% in Scotland, 11% in the UK - Table K. Apart from research, these occupations may find employment in production, service and consulting activities not classed as research. See Table O for further labour market data on occupational groups relevant for R&D.
Table K: Percentage of scientists and engineering occupations 1 working in R&D: Scotland & UK 1995-2003
Scotland | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|
Percentage working in R&D |
|---|
Scientists & Engineers | 7% | 8% | 7% | 9% | 7% | 6% | 6% | 9% | 6% |
|---|
Technicians, laboratory assistants and draughtspersons | 5% | 5% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 4% | 4% | 3% |
|---|
UK | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|
Percentage working in R&D |
|---|
Scientists & Engineers | 12% | 11% | 10% | 11% | 11% | 10% | 9% | 11% | 11% |
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Technicians, laboratory assistants and draughtspersons | 13% | 12% | 11% | 12% | 14% | 11% | 9% | 9% | 9% |
|---|
Source: ONS/ SE Analysis Table 6 and Labour Force Survey
1. Overall employment of Scientists & Engineers and Techicians etc comes from LFS Autumn quarter for each year.
2. R&D employment taken from ONS Scottish Analysis of R&D 1995 - 2003 Table 6
3. UK figures are rounded to thousands
Expenditure per R&D Employee
4.4 Table L shows the Scotland and UK expenditure per R&D employee for 1995-2003. It shows that expenditure per R&D employee in Scotland has been consistently below the UK figure, by £13,300 in 2003, however this is an improvement from 2002 where the difference was £19,300.
4.5 Expenditure on salaries and wages as a proportion of total BERD has been similar in Scotland and the UK, just under half in 2003. The gap in expenditure per employee on salaries and wages between Scotland and the UK is £2,100; this is an improvement from 2002 where the difference was £7,600. It is also the smallest difference within this time series.
Table L: Total Scotland and UK Expenditure per R&D Employee 1995-2003
£ thousands
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|
Scotland |
|---|
Total | 49.7 | 47.7 | 51.2 | 56.2 | 58.7 | 66.3 | 67.4 | 59.2 | 70.7 |
|---|
Capital total | 3.1 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 4.0 | 3.3 |
|---|
Current total | 46.6 | 45.4 | 47.5 | 51.4 | 53.0 | 57.8 | 59.8 | 55.2 | 67.4 |
|---|
Of which:
Salaries and wages | 19.3 | 20.2 | 20.6 | 22.1 | 23.6 | 26.2 | 29.4 | 27.0 | 35.3 |
|---|
Other | 27.3 | 25.2 | 26.9 | 29.3 | 29.4 | 31.7 | 30.4 | 28.2 | 32.1 |
|---|
UK |
|---|
Total | 62.9 | 65.5 | 69.8 | 68.5 | 73.9 | 79.4 | 83.4 | 78.5 | 84.0 |
|---|
Capital total | 7.0 | 6.8 | 8.1 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 11.1 | 7.0 | 7.4 |
|---|
Current total | 55.9 | 58.7 | 61.7 | 61.4 | 65.9 | 71.2 | 72.4 | 71.5 | 76.5 |
|---|
Of which:
Salaries and wages | 24.7 | 26.1 | 26.9 | 27.1 | 29.4 | 31.9 | 32.8 | 34.5 | 37.4 |
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Other | 31.2 | 32.6 | 34.8 | 34.3 | 36.5 | 39.4 | 39.6 | 37.0 | 39.2 |
|---|
Source: ONS/ SE Analysis Table 10 and ABI
1. Excluding public administration, education and health( SIC 75, 80, 85)
Product Groups
4.6 The first column of Table M shows that R&D into pharmaceutical products employed 35% of the Scottish R&D workforce, considerably more than in the UK (17%). R&D for service sector products on the other hand employed a higher proportion in the UK than in Scotland (25% compared to 16%). The percentage of scientists and engineers in the R&D workforce varies depending on the product group. Scotland has a smaller share of scientists and engineers employed in pharmaceuticals than the UK, but in the electrical machinery sector the proportion of scientists and engineers has remained higher in Scotland. This trend has been consistent over the past few years.
Table M: R&D employment by product groups and type: Scotland & UK 2003
| R&D employment | % Scientists and engineers | % Technicians, laboratory assistants and draughtsmen | % Administrative, clerical and other |
|---|
Scotland |
|---|
Manufacturing | 6029 | 52% | 13% | 35% |
|---|
Chemicals - Of Which: | 2954 | 28% | 14% | 58% |
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Chemicals. Man-made fibres | 389 | 52% | .. | .. |
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Pharmaceuticals | 2565 | 25% | .. | .. |
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Mechanical Engineering | 718 | 74% | 9% | 17% |
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Electrical Machinery | 904 | 80% | 12% | 8% |
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Transport equipment & aerospace | 489 | 74% | 14% | 11% |
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of which: Motor Vehicles & Parts | 177 | 61% | 17% | 22% |
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Services (excluding public sector) | 1203 | 68% | 12% | 20% |
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UK |
|---|
Manufacturing | 119000 | 62% | 18% | 20% |
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Chemicals | 35000 | 49% | 23% | 26% |
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Chemicals. Man-made fibres | 8000 | 50% | 38% | 13% |
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Pharmaceuticals | 27000 | 48% | 19% | 33% |
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Mechanical Engineering | 15000 | 73% | 13% | 13% |
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Electrical Machinery | 20000 | 70% | 15% | 15% |
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Transport equipment & aerospace | 30000 | 67% | 13% | 17% |
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of which: Motor Vehicles & Parts | 12000 | 58% | 17% | 25% |
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Services (excluding public sector) | 40000 | 68% | 13% | 23% |
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Source: ONS Scottish analysis Tables 7 and 7A
4.7 Table N compares the employment in R&D with the total employment by product group. This follows a similar pattern as BERD expenditure, described in Section 3. Pharmaceuticals accounts for most of R&D employment and expenditure in Scotland. Like expenditure in electrical machinery the employment in this product group has decreased substantially from 2002 (by 73% from 3293 to 904 in 2003). In the UK these, plus services and the transport sector (including aerospace) are large in terms of R&D expenditure and employment.
Table N: Employment in R&D as a percentage of total employment by industry Scotland and UK 2003
| Scotland | UK |
|---|
Employment in R&D | Total Employment | Percent employed in R&D | Employment in R&D | Total Employment | Percent employed in R&D |
|---|
Total Manufacturing | 6,029 | 243,519 | 2.5% | 119,000 | 3,327,986 | 3.6% |
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Total Other Sectors 1 | 1,334 | 1,389,034 | 0.1% | 44,000 | 16,165,816 | 0.3% |
|---|
Grand Total Excluding Public Sector | 7,363 | 1,632,555 | 0.5% | 163,000 | 19,494,607 | 0.8% |
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Chemicals (of which): | 2,954 | 14,116 | 20.9% | 35,000 | 217,073 | 16.1% |
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Chemicals. Man-made fibres | 389 | 9,495 | 4.1% | 8,000 | 149,767 | 5.3% |
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Pharmaceuticals, medical chemicals and botanical products | 2,565 | 4,621 | 55.5% | 27,000 | 67,306 | 40.1% |
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Mechanical Engineering | 718 | 42,986 | 1.7% | 15,000 | 626,843 | 2.4% |
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Electrical Machinery | 904 | 25,324 | 3.6% | 20,000 | 240,071 | 8.3% |
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Transport equipment & aerospace (Including Motor Vehicles & Parts) | 489 | 15,940 | 3.1% | 30,000 | 350,481 | 8.6% |
|---|
Source: ONS/ SE Analysis and Labour Force Survey
1. Excludes Public Sector
Labour market and skills
4.8 Table O collates some labour market indicators for the main occupational groups employed in R&D.
4.9 The first section of the table shows that of all those that describe their occupation as scientist, engineer, IT professional or scientific technician in the private sector, a higher proportion in Scotland work in the energy and water sector while the UK proportion working in finance and business services is higher. This might reflect employment in the R&D services sector (a sector too small to isolate) but more likely it indicates that a proportion of the occupational groups that might work in R&D actually have found employment in non research intensive sectors in the UK.
4.10 The percentage of this group with a degree is slightly higher in Scotland than in the UK, and in Scotland more have other higher educational qualifications ( SVQ levels 4 to 6), such as HNCs.
4.11 The second block of the table looks at people in the workforce who describe themselves as scientists or engineers: A slightly higher percentage of those in Scotland have degrees while the percentage with higher educational qualifications including HNCs is the same for Scotland and the UK.
4.12 The following parts of the table show the jobs done by people who have relevant qualifications. A similar proportion of employees with science degrees as their highest qualification are more likely to work as scientists/engineers whether they live in the UK as a whole or in Scotland. The UK sees a slightly higher proportion of those with science and engineering degrees working in the broader group of occupations (scientists, engineers, IT professionals and private sector teachers) than Scotland.
Table O: Labour market data for key occupations and qualifications Scotland and UK
Occupations and qualifications | Scotland
2003 | UK
2003 |
|---|
Scientists, engineers, IT professionals and scientific technicians |
|---|
As percentage of the private sector work force | 6.4% | 6.5% |
|---|
With degree | 43% | 42% |
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With higher educational qualifications (including HNC etc) | 66% | 59% |
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Working in energy and water sectors | 13% | 4% |
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Working in manufacturing | 31% | 32% |
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Working in financial and business services | 36% | 42% |
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Scientists and engineers |
|---|
As percentage of the private sector work force | 3% | 2% |
|---|
With degree | 46% | 45% |
|---|
With higher educational qualifications (including HNC etc) | 66% | 66% |
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Private sector employees with science degrees |
|---|
Working as scientists or engineers | 19% | 20% |
|---|
Working as scientists, engineers, IT professionals, technicians or teachers | 34% | 36% |
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Private sector employees with any degree |
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Working as scientists or engineers | n/a | 6% |
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Working as scientists, engineers, IT professionals, technicians or teachers | 22% | 21% |
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Source: SE analysis of the LFS
4.13 Table P compares the number of scientists and engineers in R&D in each year to the number of university leavers in scientific and engineering subjects in that year. Scotland has about 10% of the UK University leavers in scientific and engineering subjects and about 4% of the UK employment as scientists and engineers in R&D, a decrease from around 6% in 2002
Table P: Scotland as a percentage of UKR&D employment and university leavers in science and engineering subjects: 1995 - 2003
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
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Scientists and engineers in R&D | 4.3% | 5.2% | 4.7% | 5.0% | 4.3% | 4.0% | 4.8% | 6.3% | 3.9% |
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University leavers in science and engineering subjects | n/a | n/a | 10.5% | 10.4% | 9.7% | 9.6% | 9.7% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
|---|
Source: ONS/ SE (Table 6) and Higher Education Statistics Agency ( HESA)
4.14 The factors examined in this section suggest that from a labour market and skills perspective Scotland is certainly not worse placed than the UK as a whole for undertaking R&D.
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