Transport

The transport industry is essential to help run our country by delivering people and products to where they’re needed. The transport industry covers a variety of roles. Roads, railways, aviation, shipping and aircraft support vehicles all require skilled people to help the industry move towards a more environmentally friendly transport infrastructure.

The impact you could make

  • Using low emission vehicles to help reduce environmental impact.
  • Help build a greener infrastructure such as roads, railways and shipping which all need people with a variety of skills.

The opportunities within transport

The transport industry is growing which means there are new job roles being created such as hybrid technology engineer. There’s also going to be a higher demand for existing roles such as carbon assessors, environmental lawyers and more. All these roles can be accessed through apprenticeships, full-time or part-time education.

Employment

Around 114,400 people work in the transport sector in Scotland across a variety of roles.

Job availability

There’s a growing demand for technical skills to measure, analyse and plan methods to reduce air and environmental pollution.

Job diversity

With electric cars becoming the future and development of hydrogen and electrically powered technologies – the transport industry will see a demand for more maintenance job opportunities.

"I applied for the ScotRail apprenticeship as I've always been interested in the railway and how it works. Every day is different and I'm always learning. I would tell anyone to jump at the chance of joining an apprenticeship scheme. The chance to learn, work, and gain experience is not one to be missed."

Robbie
​​​​​​​Engineering Apprentice

Explore transport jobs

We’ve pulled together some popular transport jobs for you to explore.

Some things you may not know about transport

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By the end of 2022, the Sutherland vertical launch site near Tongue in Scotland hopes to have sent its first satellite carrying rockets into the atmosphere. This will help to support a booming Scottish space industry.

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Across the UK, eco-driving skills have the potential to save £300 million in fuel costs and 3 million tonnes of carbon emissions over a 5-year period.

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68% of vehicle retailers think that selling hybrid or electric vehicles will be a necessary part of business in the future.

* Scottish space strategy

What subjects to take

We’ve pulled together some examples of subjects that could be useful for getting into a career in transport.

  • Computing
  • English
  • Engineering FA
  • Physics
  • Design and Manufacture
  • Maths

For most jobs, you might not need specific subjects. If your school does not provide all of these subjects or you're just unsure - do not worry. There are many more subjects you can explore by using the Option Choices tool or speaking to a careers adviser in your school.

What routes you can take

There are different options you can choose from after school. We’ve pulled together some of them to help you decide which is best for you.