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Growing in Scotland – the chemical sciences industry

There are many reasons why Scotland provides fertile ground for companies looking to grow in a country with a long-established and successful chemicals industry.

The infrastructure is in place to provide support, collaboration and networking opportunities for ambitious companies seeking to take advantage of the existing skills base and expertise in Scotland.

The chemicals industry contributes £3.4billion to the Scottish economy each year and provides employment for some 13,500 people (around 70,000 jobs in Scotland).

Why not be part of this success story by basing your business in Scotland or building your career here?

Government support

The chemical sciences industry in Scotland is supported by a number of government initiatives which assist research and development through universities and research institutes.

The Scottish Executive has announced a £40 million equity fund to support innovative businesses, including chemical sciences.

Investment opportunities

The chemical sector in Scotland is the second largest exporting sector generating £1.3billion from exports annually.

The investment topic group seeks to ‘increase chemicals investment into Scotland’ and the focus for this is both from the existing business base and companies not currently operating in Scotland.

An International Plan has been developed to support the industry in this aim and delivery has now commenced. The first international event at which Chemical Sciences Scotland will appear is www.informexusa.com

If you would like to participate in this event please contact us

Please also see the Scottish Development International website for more information.

International collaboration

International collaboration is a major part of the Scottish chemical sciences industry. We have been quick to embrace cooperation and joint ventures and welcome opportunities to share information and expertise.

Collaboration within Scotland

CSS is striving to increase cooperation between members of the Scottish chemical sciences industry and build on existing collaboration. This means increasing the number and scope of alliances between the public, private and academic sectors to encourage the sharing of knowledge and reduce development times and costs.

Current research projects underway at Scottish universities include researchers at the University of St Andrews developing solid oxide fuel cell materials.

Trade bodies

Different areas of the Scottish chemical sciences sector are represented by various trade bodies and associations.

Chemicals Industry Association
UK’s leading trade association for the chemical and chemistry-using industries, representing members both nationally and internationally.
Scottish Plastics and Rubber Association
Promotes the advancement of plastics, rubber and related materials, through education and training.

Working in Chemical Sciences

The Chemicals sector in Scotland employs (excluding the academic and education sectors) some 14,000 people directly and up to 70,000 people in total.

Jobs within the sector (industry and academia) range from the specialist sector roles of lab technicians, research, PhD, engineering, and management roles to the general business roles of administration, accountancy and marketing.

As the industry is global in nature and as the sector is growing, we are currently assessing the demand for introducing job recruitment pages and job availability.

If this is of interest to you please contact us and advise if you have a job vacancy or indeed are seeking employment in Scotland.

Workforce Development

Scotland’s universities produce around 1000 graduates in the chemical sciences and engineering disciplines each year, increasing the pool of talent that exists in the country.

Such a wealth of human resources makes for the perfect environment to base and ambitious and expanding chemical sciences company.

Download our report on data about chemicals/chemistry graduates in Scotland (PDF, 135kb)

*Image courtesy of INEOS Manufacturing Scotland Ltd.