Space Careers – STEM Nation

Careers in the Space industry are taking off in Scotland, with one fifth of all UK space sector jobs based in Scotland. These jobs represent an exciting opportunity for our young people. Scotland is becoming a vital hub for the space industry – Scotland hosts five of the seven planned spaceports in the UK, with planning approval for three and two in construction phases.

To give you an insight into space career pathways, we’ve pulled together some of the key websites, facts and reports into one place.

The number of space businesses in Scotland has increased by more than 65% since 2016
By 2030, Space Scotland expects the national sector workforce to increase fivefold.
Scotland’s space sector delivers substantial economic benefits from jobs in data and manufacturing in Edinburgh and Glasgow to skilled positions at a spaceport and ground station in the Shetland Isles.
Last year, Scotland launched the world’s first ever Sustainable Space Roadmap to encourage responsible growth and set us on the path to becoming the greenest space sector in the world.
The Scottish Space Sustainability Roadmap is intended to minimise environmental impact as much as possible to make activities compatible with Scotland’s ambitions to reach net zero by 2045.
Glasgow produces the highest number of small satellites anywhere in Europe.
There are 183 space organisations located in Scotland employing 8,568 workers.
Scottish space organisations are active primarily in space manufacturing followed closely by space applications.
Scotland’s space manufacturing generates almost a third [£529m] of the UK’s total Gross Value Added (GVA) in this segment.
Scottish space industry income was £254m in 2017/18 – 14% of the UK’s total space industry contribution.
At the moment, GVA per employee is estimated at £144,000, this is 2.5 times the United Kingdom’s average labour productivity.
The University of Strathclyde’s Scottish Space School sees 80 students attend a week-long summer programme to engage the next generation of space talent.