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PwC Scotland to recruit 120 new staff as technology transforms business

Posted: 24th January 2019

PwC is embarking on a significant expansion of its Scottish operations with more than 100 staff expected to be recruited over the next six months, representing a 15% boost in overall headcount.

The professional services firm, which currently has around 900 staff across offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, is launching the recruitment drive to ensure it is able to fully harness technologies being developed in-house – from artificial intelligence, to data analytics, virtual reality and drones.

Sitting within Operate, PwC’s operational delivery and change management business, the majority of the positions will be digital technology roles, including data architects, enterprise architects, business analysts and project managers.

The move further strengthens PwC’s commitment to technology in Scotland, where it has an alliance with tech incubator Codebase and recently launched a ground-breaking Data Science Graduate Apprenticeship with the Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews. The firm also has growing tech-risk and cyber security teams – and across the UK there are now divisions focused on innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and drones.

This further investment in technology and people comes as Scottish businesses transition to operate effectively in a 21st century digital economy.

Operate was created in 2017 to support growing demand from multi-national organisations dealing with political, economic and regulatory change. The proposed recruitment in Scotland will primarily focus on supporting clients with a range of programme management, technology, finance and other specialist resources.

Since its formation, Operate has grown to more than 1,000 staff assisting a wide range of clients overcome complex operational problems.

Lindsay Gardiner, regional chairman, PwC Scotland comments:

“We are starting 2019 with the biggest recruitment drive we have ever undertaken in Scotland, a drive which underlines our ambitions to grow the business in step with the digital transformation which is underway across corporate Scotland.

“In a challenging economic and political environment, businesses are going through fundamental changes to the way they operate. By continuing to invest in our people and expanding our technology capability, we are well-positioned to help deliver this change.

“Adding more than 100 staff with the skills required of a digital economy will strengthen our service offering and so I look forward to getting the process underway with a series of events in our Edinburgh and Glasgow offices over the coming weeks.”

Ian McConnell, lead partner in Operate, adds:

“We’re delighted to bring these high-calibre roles to our Scottish operations as part of our continued expansion.

“Operate equips PwC with the ability to deliver important change programmes and operational solutions for its clients, so is new for PwC.

“While our delivery model draws on our regulatory expertise and a degree of automation, we also invest heavily in our staff. Because we operate in a rapidly evolving environment, we make sure that we equip our people with the skills of tomorrow.”

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