Scotland’s Silicon Glen might not have had its chips after all. In recent years the electronics industry has taken a real battering – and not the deep fried variety – but news of a recruitment revival is worthy of a celebratory fish supper.
It’s unlikely we’ll return to the days when Scottish factories made three out of every ten personal computers built in Europe but a recent survey suggests the sector may be sparking back into life.
Recruitment giant Manpower reckons Scottish companies are feeling more upbeat about hiring new talent, especially in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Central Scotland.
Jason Greaves, Manpower’s Operations Director, says: “There are more manufacturing opportunities for temps, and we are seeing some employers looking to revive the Silicon Glen in Scotland’s Central Belt with electronics manufacturing opportunities.’’
And Scottish Engineering had reasons to be cheerful too when its latest quarterly review showed a third strong quarter in a row with positive output figures being reported by electronics firms, fabricators, machine shops and mechanical equipment businesses.
Electronics jobs within the production and manufacturing sector are as many and varied as components on a circuit board but they all start with an engineer – the brains behind the design, development and management of electronic appliances and circuits.
To be an electrical engineer you have to love your resistors and transformers and positively glow with excitement at the prospect of a new project.
Process or systems engineers are a bit like the mums of the electrical engineering world, responsible for the day-to-day smooth running of any operation. You might not be distributing rugby kit and pocket money but co-ordination, costs, and quality control are very much your bag.
Everyone wants a safety net on the team and that’s where the test engineers come in. Responsible for tracking and troubleshooting any defects as well as dealing with compliance and warranty, you love it when someone shouts: ‘Houston (the Renfrewshire one), we have a problem!’
Then there’s the assembly line operators, with nimble fingers and eagle eyes. As kids, you were probably the ones constructing spectacular Lego creations out of the tiny parts the rest of us left in the bottom of the box.
Getting into the electronics sector can be done in various ways – with degree level qualifications, an apprenticeship to simply having a keen interest in electronics or computing. Salaries range from £15,000 for a new start to upwards of £50,000 for an experienced electronic engineer.
So why not take a look at the latest Manufacturing & Production vacancies on s1jobs?