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Member News: Scotland’s Tech Sector Surges Ahead with AI Talent Demand and Aberdeen’s Innovation Boom

November 5, 2025
Member News: Scotland’s Tech Sector Surges Ahead with AI Talent Demand and Aberdeen’s Innovation Boom

Aberdeen, October 2025 – Eden Scott’s Tech Salary Guide 2025/26 reveals a transformative year for Scotland’s tech sector, marked by soaring demand for AI talent, evolving hiring strategies, and regional innovation hubs driving national growth.

With Edinburgh and Glasgow continuing to lead in fintech and public digital services, Aberdeen is emerging as a standout success story. The city now hosts over 300 digital tech businesses and nearly 5,000 tech jobs, with projections to double both figures over the next decade.

Aberdeen’s rise is powered by its industrial AI and enterprise software ecosystem, supported by Opportunity North East (ONE) and the ONE Tech Hub, which provides incubation, mentorship, and investment access for startups. Recent additions like Energy Insider and VetAI highlight the region’s focus on AI-driven solutions in energy and healthcare.

The Tech Salary Guide outlines key national trends:

·       AI roles dominate hiring, with salaries up to 58% higher than non-AI equivalents.

·       Skills-first hiring is replacing traditional degree requirements, with employers prioritising GitHub portfolios and real-world experience.

·       Public-private alignment is accelerating AI adoption, driven by UK Government partnerships with OpenAI and the AI Safety Institute.

·       Top roles include AI Engineers, Prompt Engineers, Cloud Architects, and Cybersecurity Analysts.

Aberdeen’s momentum is further amplified by the upcoming Future of Digital Tech 2025 summit, which will convene founders, investors, and academics to explore responsible AI growth and regional tech scaling strategies.

Peter Dunn, Associate Director of Tech & Digital Recruitment at Eden Scott, commented:

“Scotland’s tech sector is evolving rapidly. Aberdeen’s emergence as a high-growth cluster shows the power of regional innovation. Organisations must adopt insight-led, flexible hiring strategies to remain competitive.”

Lucy Nicoll, Associate Director,  Eden Scott Aberdeen said:

“Aberdeen’s tech scene is certainly growing. The energy transition is sparking real innovation, and AI is helping local companies build smarter, faster solutions,  especially in energy and healthcare. We’re seeing a shift in the kinds of roles businesses need, and our guide gives employers the insight to stay ahead and hire with confidence.”   

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AREG is the original energy transition organisation, working on behalf of members to empower the energy supply chain and champion its expertise. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more about membership.

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AREG has played an important role in the growth of Scotland’s renewable energy sector, engaging the supply chain and developing the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. However, we are only at the very beginning of the transition that AREG was established to both lead and support so there are still opportunities for companies to get into the constantly evolving renewables supply chain. We look forward to continuing our work together as renewables builds on its place as Scotland’s main source of power, and as we seek to deliver real change in the crucial areas of heat and transport.

Scottish Renewables
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Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with AREG since its formation. The recent progress in the developments of offshore wind projects by Equinor and Vattenfall are as a result of the work of the group over many years. The north-east is known as the oil and gas capital of Europe. At the Chamber, we believe the region must evolve its position to being recognised as the energy capital. Whilst hydrocarbons will continue to be essential in driving our economy for years to come, the generation of renewable resources will play an increasingly important role in providing cost-effective power, innovative development and economic growth.

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce
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The enthusiasm and dedication of the early group that would become AREG was fundamental in us choosing to launch All-Energy in Aberdeen. The first tiny show was held in 2001, and AREG’s Chairman at the time, Jeremy Cresswell, played such an active role that I often describe him in terms such as All-Energy’s ‘midwife’. All-Energy is now the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference in terms of number of attendees, space booked, and number of exhibiting companies. As AREG became firmly established, their presence and support for the event grew spectacularly over the years. We thank them most sincerely for their invaluable input.

All-Energy
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Vattenfall has forged a strong working relationship with AREG through the development of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. AREG has worked tirelessly on behalf of the North East and it can take enormous credit for the growth of sustainable energy in the region and the path it has cleared for the region to capture further investment.

Vattenfall
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Aberdeen City and Shire is emerging as a key location for renewables by successfully transferring its world-class oil and gas expertise into the sector and AREG has done much to advance this through a broad range of initiatives. It has acted as a catalyst in driving further investment in the local economy by engaging with companies, Government, public bodies and existing projects and we have been pleased to support their efforts. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with AREG as we increase Scotland’s use of renewable energy.

Scottish Enterprise