- engineering and technology salary increases remain high at between 15% and 24%
- new entries reflect effects of Covid, Brexit and skill shortages
- overall salary increase in Scotland in 2022 was 5.7%, compared to 5.4% across the UK
Professional jobs in the engineering industry in Scotland are amongst positions commanding top salary increases for 2022, with quality and middle-management engineering roles and multi-skilled electrical and mechanical engineers featuring at the top spots, enjoying salary increases of up to 28%, according to leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment, Hays in Scotland.
The Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends guide 2023, which includes over 10,000 salaries across 16 industry areas in all UK regions, including Scotland, shows that jobs in IT and technology still feature strongly in the top 20, with cyber security analysts and software developers in third and fourth places respectively, with an increase of over 24%.
New entries in the list include events managers in fifth place (23% increase), recruitment advisors in sixth (21% increase) and import/export administrators in tenth place with an increase of 19% in the last 12 months.
According to Hays Scotland director, Keith Mason, STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) are still highly sought after with engineering projects in Scotland likely to be a significant economic driver going forward.
“Infrastructure in Scotland is anticipated to grow hugely over the next five or ten years, fuelled mainly by the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan which promises over £26 billion of sustainable build projects and investment in renewables.
“This will mean that engineering skills right across the board will become increasingly in demand. Our survey is already showing salary increases of around 17% – 18% for positions such as automation engineers and manufacturing managers.
“Positions such as field service engineers are also in demand, as prolonging the life of a valuable piece of equipment for a salary of £40,000, is preferable to purchasing a new piece of equipment for £200,000. It can take many years to train an engineer, so it’s important for employers to take a long-term view when recruiting in this sector.”
New entries in the list reflect changing circumstances in recent years with employers responding to the effects of the Covid pandemic, Brexit and skill shortages overall.
A new entry at number five, events managers can now enjoy a salary of around £37,000, which is a 23% increase in 2022.
“Conferences and corporate events are huge drivers for the hospitality industry,” says Mason. “This is a sign of organisations wishing to re-establish connections with customers post-Covid. “A good events manager will act as an effective sales person for an organisation, helping them to both boost sales and increase brand visibility in a very competitive sector.”
As businesses are investing in new processes and procedures to manage Brexit, the role of import/export administrator is a new entry at number 10, with a salary increase of over 19%, bringing the average salary for this type of role to around £25,000. IT and cyber security, sales, and diversity, equality and inclusion advisors also feature highly.
The overall salary increase in Scotland in 2022 was 5.7%, compared to 5.4% across the UK.
The full list of top 20 salary increases for 2022 is:
| Job | Industry | Salary (average 2022) | % Salary increase since 2021 | ||
| 1. | Fabricator/Welder | Engineering Trade (Manufacturing) | £32,000 | 28% | |
| 2. | Head of Tax/Director | Taxation (In-house) | £125,000 | 25% | |
| 3. | Cyber Security Analyst | Technology (Cyber) | £56,000 | 24.4% | |
| 4. | Product Manager | Technology (Software Development) | £62,000 | 24% | |
| 5. | Events Manager | Marketing (Events) | £37,500 | 23% | |
| 6. | Talent/Resourcing Advisor | HR (Recruitment & Resourcing) | £40,000 | 21.2% | |
| 7. | Marketing Analyst/CRM Analyst | Marketing (Insight) | £35,000 | 20.7% | |
| 8. | Head of Business Intelligence | Technology (Leadership) | £90,000 | 20% | |
| 9. | Salesforce Solution Architect | Technology (CRM) | £105,000 | 19.3% | |
| 10. | Import/Export Administrator | Business Support | £25,000 | 19% | |
| 11. | Financial Planning & Analysis Manager | Accountancy & Finance | £72,500 | 18.9% | |
| 12. | Head of IT Security | Technology (Leadership) | £95,000 | 18.8% | |
| 13. | Engineering Operative | Engineering Trade (Manufacturing) | £26,000 | 18.2% | |
| 14. | Manufacturing Manager | Engineering & Manufacturing (Defence) | £65,000 | 18.2% | |
| 15. | Machine Learning Scientist | Technology (Data & Advanced Analytics) | £65,000 | 18.2% | |
| 16. | Digital Manager | Marketing (Online & Digital) | £60,000 | 17.6% |
| 17. | Automation Engineer | Engineering & Manufacturing (Defence) | £48,000 | 17.1% | |
| 18. | Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Advisor | HR (DE&I) | £35,000 | 16.7% | |
| 19. | Salesforce Project Manager | Technology (CRM) | £58,000 | 16% | |
| 20. | Information Security Manager | Technology (Cyber) | £75,000 | 15.4% |