Recruitment in…Edinburgh

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is known for its culture, being home to the famous Fringe festival, novelist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as the spellbinding Edinburgh Castle. But what is it like to recruit there? Recruitment Grapevine spoke to Gordon Kaye and Sam Wason, Co-Managing Directors of specialist recruitment consultancy, Cathcart Associates to ask them about their experiences hiring in the city…

What do you love about Edinburgh?

“Edinburgh is home to a number of incubators and accelerators that have helped promote a thriving ‘meet up’ culture. According to Tech City UK, over 23,000 people take part in up to 88 Tech meet up events [in the city]. Our ScotML event this year was a huge success and an important part of that was this culture, particularly around the tech scene.

“And just last month, Tech Nation 2018 reported Edinburgh as the ‘best city in the UK for tech’, which proves that it’s never been a better time to get involved with the scene here.”

What challenges do you face here as a recruiter?

“We have found there is a lack of flexibility between clients and candidates here. Many candidates in Edinburgh prefer to travel shorter distances for work and a lot of people are also used to either driving or taking public transport to work, but rarely switch this around. However, in Manchester, for instance, location and flexibility play a far more significant role. People are more open to commuting and are more flexible using public transport or driving.

“Likewise, our clients in Edinburgh are generally more reluctant to interview talented individuals if they don’t live close to the office.”

What does the future hold for recruitment in Edinburgh?

“There is plenty to be positive about for the future, despite the skills gap. Edinburgh is lucky enough to have one of the best informatics schools in the country, perhaps even the world, and this will be essential for tech recruitment in years going forward.

“Being voted as the ‘best city for Millennials to move to’, according to Deutsche Bank, certainly doesn’t hurt when it comes to attracting new talent in the future, either!”