Get Ready for a Growth Sector Career

You might be thinking about coming to college to get a qualification to improve your job prospects, or you might be leaving school with no idea of what kind of career you want.  

While your course choice should reflect your interests, passions, experience and skills, you might also want to consider a course that can help you secure employment in a sector that is likely to be hiring when you finish your studies. We've taken a look at some of the sectors which are likely to see continued growth over the next couple of years.

Education

Education is a fundamental part of our society and Scotland prides itself on delivering a first-class and accessible education. The sector is made up of a huge range of different job roles, it’s not just teaching! Within the education sector, you could work in the community, in a nursery, as a policy officer, in publishing and many more lines of employment. Education will always be important, whether it’s hands-on teaching or development of the sector, so jobs in education will always be in demand.  

If you want to get started in a career in education, take a look at our Childhood Practice courses that can help you get there.

Health

Working in health is a hugely rewarding career as you will have the opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives. We’ve seen over the course of the pandemic how invaluable our health professionals are. There will always be a need for health professionals, so as well as being a rewarding career it is also fairly secure one. NHS Lothian are one of the biggest employers in the area and employ 24,000 people in Edinburgh and the Lothians in a range of different roles. You could work in childcare, nursing, pharmacy, medicine and many more of areas of health care. 

If you want to get started in a career in health, take a look at our Health Professions and Social Services courses that can help you get there.

Digital

The digital sector is an exciting and innovative one to get into. You can work on a range of projects in different disciplines including software, IT, cyber security, digital media and much more. The sector has experienced rapid growth over the years as new technologies continue to emerge. In 2018, the digital sector accounted for 7.7% of the UK economy according to a report by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. In Scotland, the sector is made up of 11,240 companies according to statistics from Scottish Enterprise. This means there are lots of opportunities to work and progress in the sector. 

If you want to get started in a career in digital, take a look at our Computing courses for programming, cybersecurity and more. Our Art and Design department offer courses in graphic design and user experience design, which can help you land a job in the digital sector.

Construction

Construction is a big part of our everyday lives, whether it’s small-scale renovations or large construction sites that employ hundreds of people. Due to skills shortages, the construction sector will need to recruit more people into the industry meaning there are lots of employment opportunities. The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has said that the industry will need to find 160,000 new recruits by 2023 to keep up with demand.  

There are many areas of construction that you can work on including management, building, joinery and many more.  

If you want to get started in a career in construction, take a look at our Construction Trades courses and Built Environment courses that can help you get there. 

Financial Services

Edinburgh is well known and globally recognised as a centre for financial services. Nearly 53,000 people work in Edinburgh’s financial services sector, accounting for around 15% of the city’s workforce according to a report by Core Asset Consulting. While the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit may have an impact on the sector, it is clear that skilled workers will always be in demand to uphold the UK’s reputation as a leading business centre. 

The financial services sector is made up of industries like banking, investments, insurance and much more, so there are plenty of opportunities to work and progress in the sector.  

If you want to get started in a career in financial services, take a look at our Enterprise and Commerce courses that can help you get there. 

Ready to start your application? View our courses.