Call for skills training after rise in selfemployment

The number of selfemployed people in Scotland’s urban areas has soared since the financial crisis, but lack of skills training is affecting their job security, according to a new study.

Dundee has seen the biggest rise in self-employment since 2008, at 39.4 per cent, but also has the most low-skilled self-employed people of any Scottish city, Centre for Cities research found.

Edinburgh has the highest number of high-skilled self-employed workers, at 35.2 per cent compared to Dundee’s 18.9 per cent.

Centre for Cities claimed self-employed Scots need better access to training to respond to “the changing world of work”.

Chief executive Andrew Carter called for the UK government to take action to upskill workers, adding: “One in five jobs in cities is likely to be lost to automation and, though we are seeing a self-employment boom, too many people working for themselves in cities are in lower-skilled roles and lack access to the training they need to future proof their careers.”