Scientific research and development

Sector introduction

Science research and development, or science R&D for short, is a crucial group of industries for doctoral graduates. Science R&D covers employment in research in the life sciences (particularly biotechnology and agriculture), physical sciences and the biomedical sector, but is also treated in this profile as an employment sector in its own right. This sector profile does not consider the pharmaceutical or chemicals manufacturing industries, which are covered in separate sector profiles.

In 2008, approximately 109,300 people were employed in the sector, with around 28% of the UK workforce, 31,000, based in the South East of England [Skills and the future of UK Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies]. In 2008, there were 4,020 UK employers in the sector, mostly small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The top ten local authority areas for employment in the UK in the sector were Camden (6,000), South Cambridgeshire (5,200), Bracknell Forest (Berkshire) (4,900), Cheshire East (3,900), Wiltshire (3,600), Vale of White Horse (Oxfordshire) (3,500), Cambridge (2,900), Dover (2,700), Rushmoor (Hampshire) (2,500) and Westminster (2,400).