Scotland is set to benefit from a leading professional services company’s plans to boost its UK workforce by 3,000 over the next three years.
Ireland-based Accenture, which specialises in IT services and consulting, has announced it will expand its Edinburgh office and open new premises in Glasgow.
The firm aims to “harness the expertise and talent in Scotland” – reflecting opportunities to grow its business locally and the potential to deploy that expertise to service its clients globally from its Scottish technology hubs.
The new roles will offer technology and industry career opportunities across a range of areas, including data intelligence, cloud computing and cybersecurity, with a focus on financial services.
In March this year, Accenture’s Tech Talent Tracker showed resurgent demand in city hubs of Edinburgh and Glasgow for cutting-edge skills such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, as organisations in Scotland accelerate digital transformation.
Michelle Hawkins, managing director for Accenture Scotland, said: “This investment to create more jobs across the UK is an opportunity to grow our footprint in Scotland. Scotland has the talent and by creating these high-value jobs across data analytics and cloud in particular, we hope to continue to build Scotland’s reputation as a place of technology innovation and digital transformation.
“The pandemic has emphasised the role that technology plays in our economy and how it not only drives change but also competitiveness. It has also demonstrated that talent can be accessed anywhere. By building our expertise here in Scotland we envisage a greater role for Scottish skills supporting companies and economies oversees, without the need for them to relocate. These are exciting times as we adapt to the changes happening around us and we want to be at the forefront of innovation.”
Half of the new roles announced by Accenture will be based outside London, adding to its existing workforce of approximately 11,000.
Simon Eaves, market unit lead, Accenture in the UK and Ireland, said that the new roles are being driven by increased client demand for services in platforms, cloud engineering, cybersecurity, data and intelligent operations.
He added: “The UK economy is rebounding swiftly following the pandemic and we are seeing strong demand from clients seeking to capitalise on this growth opportunity. We are committed to growing our footprint across the UK which is why I am particularly excited about our plans across Scotland and northern England where we see some of the best technology talent in the country.”
