Scotland has approximately 67,000 passenger transport employees, working in over 2,000 companies.  The sector accounts for around 2% of jobs in Scotland.  The majority of the workforce is employed in taxi and private hire industry, followed by the bus and coach industry.  Projections for the sector over the next decade show that it will be static. 

Recruitment difficulties are the result of a shortage of applicants with the right skills.  The majority of companies reported no change in employee numbers (75%), 16% reported an increase in staff numbers and 9% reported a decrease.  Employers are less likely to recruit a person into their first job since leaving school, college or university.

A significant proportion of the sector workforce in Scotland has an NVQ Level 2 qualification or higher (63%), compared to the UK workforce (54%).  Sector specific apprenticeships and qualifications are more common in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK. 

Currently, there is a high demand for: technical and practical skills (59% of companies); communication skills (60%); and customer service skills (30%).  IT skills are also needed particularly by smaller companies.  Companies reported that future skill needs will be for: driving training skills (8%); IT skills (5%); customer service (5%); driver instruction (4%); booking operations (4%); and communication skills (4%).

Water transport is a significant industry in the Highlands and Islands representing approximately 1,600 employees.

The age profile of the sector workforce is similar to the UK passenger transport workforce profile.  However, only 16% of the workforce are aged 55 years and over, compared to 21% in the UK.

The average weekly full-time wage is £391, which is similar to the Scottish average (£393).

Workforce statistics:

• 12% of the workforce work part-time
• 23% of the workforce in Scottish Enterprise are self-employed compared to 19% in the Highlands and Islands
• 84% of the workforce are male
• average of the workforce is 43.1 years
• 31% of workforce are over 50 years in Scottish Enterprise, compared to 36% in the Highlands and Islands
• 97% of the workforce are white
• 63% of the workforce have an NVQ Level 2 or higher, compared to 54% in the UK
• 10% have no qualifications, compared to 12% for the UK

Employer statistics:

• only 5% of companies are located in the Highlands and Islands
• 25% in Glasgow
• 14% in Edinburgh
• 30% of  companies report recruitment difficulties
• 11% of report retention problems
• 22% of companies report skills gaps, compares to 21% across Scotland
• skills gaps are reported for customer handling and team working skills
• 29% of companies provide training for their employees
• 35% found that there was a lack of funding available for training
• 15% report a lack of suitable courses in the local area

Source: GoSkills national fact sheet 2006, GoSkills Skills Needs Assessment (stage 1) 2006a and Futureskills Scotland 2005

 For more information on the passenger transport sector in Scotland go to the Careers Scotland website.  

For more data on Scotland’s passenger transport sector see: