The Information Technology, Telecoms and Contact Centres Industry

Over the last few years, these industries have been among the fastest growing and developing sectors in the country. They have an impact on all industries.

• About two per cent of all Scottish jobs are in the IT and telecoms industries. (55,700)
• There are also IT professionals employed in other sectors; over half a million in the UK.
• The UK is the third largest telecoms market in the world.
• There are 56,000 contact centre jobs in Scotland; almost 86 per cent of these are in the central belt of Scotland.
• Most industries have contact centres; financial services, with 30 per cent of the total number of jobs, remains the most important user of contact centres.

Areas Included

The IT and telecommunications sector is responsible for:

• the installation and maintenance of communication networks
• the installation and support for new computer software and hardware

These industries have changed the way we lead our lives and altered the way in which business is conducted; you can play videos on mobile phones and hold face to face meetings with business colleagues in other countries.

There is almost no aspect of our lives that is not affected by this industry.

In Contact Centres, staff no longer just use a telephone; they also use the Internet, e-mail and SMS messaging.

• Just under half of all employees are sales and customer service staff.
• The most common IT professional job role in the UK is "software engineer".
• Contact Centre staff require high levels of technical, language and personal skills.

For a full list of jobs in this industry see below.

What’s it like to work in the information technology, telecommunications & contact centres industry

• This industry will appeal most to those with an interest in technical work.
• Most jobs are full time – 85%.
• Most employees are men – 61%.
• Self employment in IT is slightly higher than the average.
• The average age of a worker is 37 – similar to the average of 36 for Scotland as a whole.
• In contact centres, three fifths of the workforce is female (61%).
• Labout turnover is higher than turnover in other sectors (47 per cent compared with 21 per cent)

Future Trends

• Employment is expected to increase by more than 20% in the next ten years.
• Future skills shortages are expected to be in systems integration, networking and business analysis.
• Despite some call centres moving overseas and changes in technology; the industry is predicted to continue to grow.

Find out more about where the jobs are in your area.

Useful Information

e-skills UK is the Sector Skills Council for this industry.

Occupations