Positive news for UK Science jobs

Thu 22 Nov 2007

In research published today, four times as many UK companies plan to use more scientists in 2008 compared to those looking for less. This is excellent positive news for UK scientists who have been feeling uneasy about job prospects following recent high profile redundancy announcements by large pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer.

In the survey undertaken by Science Recruitment specialists SRG , 41% of respondents are looking to increase numbers of scientific staff and only 9% are looking to decrease.    This demonstrates the underlying strength of the UK science industry that, while industry giants may be feeling the squeeze, small and medium sized companies have plans for expansion during 2008.

The survey was completed during October 2007 by 449 respondents from UK companies in a broad range of industries including food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, defence, utilities and government bodies/research institutes.

Mike Ellingham, Head of Marketing for SRG commented "The results of the survey confirm what we have experienced this year.  There is a healthy demand for scientists from the vast majority of our customer base in the UK.  Our recruitment numbers are up by more than 15% this year and we expect this trend to continue".  

Ellingham continues "This is positive news for scientists and we urge graduates not to be put off by high profile redundancy announcements.  Indeed, companies considering redundancies need to be aware of the market demand for scientists.  In answering another question on the survey, SEVEN times as many respondents believed it was becoming more difficult to recruit scientific personnel compared to those who felt it was becoming easier.  Companies that make redundancies in the current market will find it incredibly difficult to replace those lost skills."  

Full details of the survey can be seen in the Reports and Surveys section.