eFinancialCareers

Scottish financial services professionals have seen an astronomical 25% wage hike over the last year.

Front-office roles north of the border have shown signs of problems, with both HBOS and Aberdeen Asset Management announcing plans for redundancies.

But in the middle and back-office space though, there are still plentiful roles waiting to be filled and a shortage of people to fill them, and firms are shelling out to get people on board, according to figures from recruiters Joslin Rowe.

The number of jobs on offer in Scotland has remained similar to this time last year, in spite of peaks throughout 2007, but salaries have still swelled by 25.26% over the same period.

It’s not that exciting though, as investment operations doesn’t exactly pay stellar rates: salaries have increased from an average £23k in 2007, to £28.8k this year.

Margaret Dyer, director of Joslin Rowe, says: “Despite recent announcements of job cuts we have yet to see any evidence of hiring freezes. Firms still seem prepared to pay to get the best people on board.”

Scottish firms' taste for temps has waned, though, and there are nearly 1,000 fewer jobs now than in 2007.

Dyer reckons this is the opposite of what’s happening in the City: “Hiring temporary, instead of permanent, staff ensures more flexibility in the employment relationship if budgets tighten. That’s what’s happening in London. The truth is that wholesale cost reduction is not on the agenda of Scotland’s top financial services employers.”