Workforce
Stirling has a highly skilled local workforce – 39 per cent of Stirling’s working age residents have HND / degree level qualifications, significantly higher than the 32 per cent average for Scotland as a whole. 59 per cent of Stirling residents have qualifications at SVQ Level 3 or above, higher than the 51 per cent average for Scotland as a whole. With 55 per cent of Scotland’s population living within an hour’s drive of Stirling, businesses in the area source skills both locally and from the wider central belt of Scotland.
Stirling also offers an excellent pool of new entrants to the job market. School leaver qualifications are amongst the highest in Scotland, and Stirling exceeds the Scottish average in terms of S4 school pupils achieving credit results for 5 or more Standard Grades. A greater percentage of school leavers in Stirling enter both higher education and employment than the Scottish average.
Strong levels of entrepreneurship in the Stirling area are reflected in the nine per cent self-employment rate, higher than the eight per cent average for Scotland. Stirling has a flexible labour force, with 69 per cent of workers in the Stirling area employed full time and 31 per cent part time.
The University of Stirling has an international student base and has around 9,000 students. The large student population provide an important source of part time labour for businesses in the Stirling area as well as a supply of graduate level employees.
