EDINBURGH has been named as one of the world’s most talent-rich cities and the second in the UK thanks to its world-class universities and a highly educated workforce, according to new research.
A report by real estate firm JLL ranked the Scottish capital as the 15th city in the world for talent, beating world-famous cities including New York and Tokyo.
London was named as the city with the highest talent concentration globally.
The Innovation Geographies report analysed more than 100 cities worldwide to quantify their innovation and talent attributes, and examine how this links with real estate investment and performance.
Findings show that top performing cities in both innovation and talent indices are not only outperforming in economic activity but have also recorded the fastest, most vigorous office rental growth over the past decade, and are attracting a higher proportion of real estate capital.
Edinburgh’s demographic of 20-40-year olds now accounts for 35% of the population, the highest in Europe. More than half of Edinburgh’s workforce has tertiary education (significantly higher than the global average of 34%) with Edinburgh University recognised as a world-leader in the fields of computer science and informatics.
Birthplace of tech unicorn, Skyscanner, and base of the UK’s largest tech incubator, Codebase, Edinburgh has aspirations to become the “data capital of Europe”. R&D expenditure accounts for 2.2% of GDP, double that of Glasgow, Manchester or London, and outside London, Edinburgh received more high-tech foreign direct investment than any other UK city between 2015-2018.
Edinburgh also ranked 60th in the top 100 most innovative cities globally.
Cameron Stott of JLL said: “Edinburgh’s burgeoning tech sector and resilient financial sector means it remains a firm favourite with investors.”
Council leader Adam McVey, said: “Edinburgh is a city full of vibrancy and opportunity and has an incredibly strong city economy. Unemployment rates remain low and our jobs market remains diverse and forward looking. This attracts companies of all sizes, from both home and abroad.”
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