Engineering and manufacturing
From local buildings to railways and aircrafts – bring creations to life as an engineer.
What impact could you make?
The potential for an engineer is massive. You can take it wherever you want to go.AndyHead of Tech Development and Digitalisation, Booth Welsh
Engineering and manufacturing at a glance
There are lots of exciting opportunities, from aerospace and pharmaceuticals to food and fast-moving consumer goods production. It’s a global industry, so an engineering and manufacturing career can take you all across the world.
Employment
In 2024, there were around 127,800 people employed in engineering across Scotland.
Job availability
Between 2024 and 2027, it's expected there will be 4,300 people needed to fill job openings in Scotland.
Job diversity
In 2024, most of Scotland’s engineering roles were in Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, South Ayrshire and West Lothian.
Design the future
We’ve pulled out some of the most popular engineering job profiles for you to explore.
Things you may not know about engineering and manufacturing
Scotland designs and builds more nanosatellites than anywhere else in Europe.
Our engineers are world leaders in harnessing wave and tidal power as an alternative energy resource.
Source: Scottish Government
The Scottish space industry will need more than 3,000 engineers in the next 10 years as we prepare for the first European space launch.
What subjects you could take in school
We've pulled together some examples of subjects and Foundation Apprenticeships (FAs) that could be useful for getting into an engineering and manufacturing career.
English
maths
computing
Engineering FA
design and manufacture
science
Leaders in engineering and manufacturing
Discover some of the organisations within Scottish engineering and manufacturing and how they’re making an impact on the industry.
Scottish Engineering
Scottish Engineering connects businesses and individuals to the resources they need to meet their goals.
Visit Scottish Engineering
Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space Scotland
Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space Scotland (ADS) represents and supports more than 1,100 engineering-based businesses.
Visit ADS
Space Scotland
Find out all the latest news within Scotland's ever-growing space industry.
Visit Space Scotland