Living and Working in Aberdeen

Living & Working

Living in Aberdeen

Aberdeen’s strong and vibrant business community offers an attractive location of choice for those with entrepreneurial spirit and an innovative approach.

Aberdeen's close proximity to aweinspiring countryside and coastline sets it apart from other international cities and it is one of the few major UK cities with a beach. There is a wide range of leisure pursuits available in and around the city. From kite surfing to hill walking, snow sports in the winter months to a golf course for every week of the year - there is always something to keep you busy.

The city has an outstanding choice of accommodation, superb healthcare facilities and exceptional private and public education. Aberdeen has five shopping centres, numerous indoor attractions and a thriving theatre and arts scene. Aberdeen should be the location of choice for your family.

Even the weather here is good - the North-East is the driest region in Scotland and Aberdeen was recently named the sunniest city in the UK by Bank of Scotland!

Aberdeen is unique – which is why it is consistently voted one of the top places in the UK to live and work. Regularly achieving one of the highest living standards in the UK, people who come to live and work in Aberdeen agree that the quality of life is exceptional, with city facilities offering outstanding education, healthcare, choice of housing and leisure activities. The 2014 Good Growth for Cities Index ranked Aberdeen as the best Scottish city to live and work. A truly cosmopolitan city, Aberdeen offers a great range of cultural activities, festivals and events in addition to the superb array of shopping, restaurants, bars and night life.

Perfect for families, Aberdeen offers a safe environment and was recently voted one of the happiest cities in the UK. Only an hour’s flying time to London, Aberdeen has excellent rail, road and sea links.

Union Street

Housing, Healthcare and Services

Property choice in Aberdeen is varied from affordable housing to stunning granite stone townhouses, and private landlords let part or fully furnished private sector rented properties, from one bedroom flats to mansion houses.

All solicitors within Aberdeen advertise local private properties that are for sale or rent via their own websites and through the Aberdeen Solicitors’ Property Centre via www.aspc.co.uk.

Medical Provision

Medical care is available through the NHS. To receive treatment you will need to register with a local doctors' surgery and also a dental practice to identify if medical treatment will be free.

Aberdeen is also home to a pioneering Children’s Hospital.

Aberdeen

Jobs and Careers

Aberdeen and the surrounding area are consistently voted one of the top places in the UK to live and work. With high living standards, the city offers exceptional education, healthcare, choice of housing and outdoor leisure pursuits.

The city offers a safe environment, with low crime rates and has been voted one of the happiest cities in the UK. The people who come to live and work in Aberdeen agree that the quality of life is exceptional.

The City of Aberdeen has an entrepreneurial spirit and this is demonstrated by the large number of global businesses that have made Aberdeen their base and the high business start-up rate in the city. Working in partnership with Business Gateway, Elevator supports the business leaders of today and tomorrow. Elevator's Accelerator Programme is aimed at entrepreneurs looking to start-up, scaleup, or transform their business.

As well as traditional energy sectors, renewables and decommissioning now play a vital role in developing transferable skills and experience within the energy industry. Training, skills development and business assistance are available from a number of organisations across the city including Aberdeen City Council.

Whilst energy remains at the heart of our economy, there are a number of employment opportunities in other industries. The city has appetite to recruit into education, energy service industries, sciences, NHS, retail, leisure and others.

The adoption of the Aberdeen City Centre Masterplan also proposes to deliver a significant amount of new employment space, bring jobs back into the city centre and support new growing industries such as the creative industry. This, alongside significant investment in digital connectivity will create a stronger and more diverse city centre economy. Advanced technology within the city will provide the capacity, quality and reliability of infrastructure required by businesses and resident alike. Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils recently worked together to obtain a Aberdeen City Region Deal. The City Region Deal will help the region to secure a better economic and social environment, not only for the North-East but also for the nation as a whole in a long-term improvement programme.

The City Region Deal will have far reaching impacts, not just on the economy, but on regional competitiveness, connectivity, infrastructure, housing, employment and lifestyle, all of which are key elements in attracting and retaining the people we will continue to need to power and support the energy sector.

Our economy and the unique and distinct quality of life we have are fundamental to attracting talent and retaining skills here.

Education

Aberdeen City Council provides education for pre-school and nursery aged children through primary and into secondary.

All of our schools are enterprising, active and engaging. Our schools benefit from successful Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland (HMIe) inspections. All our learners benefit from some of the best practice in pedagogy, business links, ICT and Developing Global Citizenship. Through our Developing Global Citizenship programme our learners are well connected and active in engaging in worldwide affairs as well as local citizenship issues. Our schools have embraced Curriculum for Excellence developing innovative pedagogy ensuring learners have the knowledge and skills they will need for learning, life and work.

Our secondary schools also work well together through collaborative working in consortia groups and a well-established City Campus model whereby learners can access education anywhere, any time. This model includes opportunities with business partners, voluntary third sector

providers, and North East Scotland College, Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen.

Education staff have formed ‘teacher learning communities’ and subject networks to support educational improvement. All of this work has ensured that our attainment in 2012 / 13 was the best in a ten year trend and in 2013 / 14 the second best over that decade. Our positive destinations have increased around 10% over the past five years (91% of our school leavers enter a positive destination). In the same time period we have halved youth unemployment rates (18-24 year olds) to 1.3% in June 2014 (one of the lowest rate in the UK). Our learners also achieve in a broad range of ways including sporting achievements, musical contributions, cultural engagement and positive citizenship projects.

We have a new learning and teaching policy, a well-structured leadership development programme as well as the effective support of a Curriculum & Quality Improvement Officer team promoting validated self-evaluation, improvement, and innovation in education.

Being on the doorstep of scenic countryside, coastal locations, hills and mountains, learners not only have the opportunity to learn in some of the best school estate and best resourced classrooms, but also have access to the great outdoors including our very own Aberdeen Adventure centre.

With strong education provision, a plethora of cultural attractions, a vibrant art scene and access to some of the best outdoor and lifelong learning, where better to learn?

State schools

The quality of education within the region is high and a number of our schools are rated in the top 20 Scottish secondary schools league tables. Historically, the

most famous of Aberdeen's schools is Aberdeen Grammar School. Founded in 1263 it is one of the oldest schools in Britain and is most famous for being the school of Lord Byron.

www.aberdeencity.gov.uk

The University of Aberdeen

King’s College was founded in 1495 by William Elphinstone (1431-1514), Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland. Marischal College was founded in New Aberdeen by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal of Scotland in 1593. These foundations were amalgamated to form the present University of Aberdeen in 1860.

Ranked among the top 200 universities in the world and renowned for its international outlook, the University of Aberdeen offers world leading research capability, first-rate graduates, and many opportunities for continuing professional development.

The undergraduate programmes, particularly in geosciences and engineering, are constantly evolving to meet employers’ needs, while a strong portfolio of Masters’ programmes includes many designed for the energy sector including courses in energy law, economics and business.

The university also has a strong track record in biosciences, life sciences and digital innovation.

www.abdn.ac.uk

Robert Gordon University

The original college was opened in 1750 by use of a bequest by Robert Gordon, the philanthropist, to educate the sons of the city’s tradesmen. A separate Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology (RGIT) was created in 1965 to reflect the continuing advancement in the level of the teaching work. RGU has achieved international recognition for delivering quality, professional education from undergraduates degrees to PhDs.

Through long standing business relationships, they deliver high quality professional learning and a variety of ways in which business can benefit by partnering up with the University, from placements, to one-off challenges, to consultancy and community based collaborations.

More recently, the university has undergone a £120 million campus development project at Garthdee. The campus now provides students and staff with state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities including a new library, formal and informal learning, and social spaces for students allowing for collaborative working between staff and students.

The new facilities complement the University’s existing buildings in terms of their innovative design and style, while providing an outstanding educational environment for its students.

The Business School also offers a variety of ways of studying which help to meet the diversity of CPD needs of those who are already in employment.

1992 RGIT was awarded university status and became Robert Gordon University.

www.rgu.ac.uk

Art and Architecture Schools

Gray’s School of Art, part of Robert Gordon University, was founded in 1886 and is one of the oldest art colleges in the UK. It is situated in the beautiful grounds of the University’s Garthdee campus on the edge of the city.

https://graysartschoolaberdeen.com

The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment is also situated on the Garthdee campus of Robert Gordon University. The School has a student-led lecture society and sponsored lecture series called 5710, which invites high-profile speakers involved in architecture worldwide - creating a unique link between architectural practice and architectural education.

http://scottsutherlandschool.com

Colleges

North East Scotland College is one of Scotland’s largest further education colleges and has several campuses in Aberdeen.It offers a wide variety of parttime and full-time courses leading to several different qualifications.

www.abcol.ac.uk

Private Schools

Private schools in Aberdeen include:

•Albyn School (www.albynschool.co.uk) •St Margaret’s School for Girls (www.st-margarets.sch.uk) •Robert Gordon’s College (www.rgc.aberdeen.sch.uk) •International School of Aberdeen (www.isa.aberdeen.sch.uk)

North East Scotland College provides a range of full and parttime courses, training services and short courses for business, Professional Development Programmes and work-based learning. So whether you want to

up-skill an existing one or learn something for fun, contact us now.

North East Scotland College is one of Scotland’s largest colleges and is the largest single local provider of further education in the North East of Scotland.

The College aims to be a major presence in the economic and cultural life of the North East of Scotland, providing opportunities for school leavers and adult returners to acquire skills that will provide them with sustainable employment and to provide industry with the highly-skilled workforce that they need – but also to provide cultural enrichment through its part-time programmes and the open events which it supports.

The College recruits around 7,000 full-time students each year across a wide range of vocational areas and a further 15,000 students enrol on part time and distance learning courses.

Our portfolio of full time courses include Engineering, Science, Constructive & Automotive Engineering, Creative Arts, Music, Drama, Media, Business Management, Tourism, Computing, Care, Hair & Beauty, Hospitality, Sport, Social Sciences and Learning Opportunities. Our part time and distance learning courses offer opportunities for learning for fun as well as for furthering your career. Our main hubs of delivery are located across Aberdeen, Fraserburgh and Peterhead with learning centres in Ellon, Inverurie and Banff/Macduff.

Students attending North East Scotland College, an Associate College of Robert Gordon University, are provided with enhanced progression and articulation opportunities into degree programmes. The College also has close working relationships with the city’s other university, the University of Aberdeen.

We also work with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council to provide opportunities for pupils at school and to ease transition from school to College. It’s a little known fact that more than 30% of all North-East school leavers progress to North East Scotland College - many of whom benefit from a wide range of College vocational courses while they are still at school.

The College’s company – ASET International Oil and Gas Academy – specialises in dedicated training courses for the offshore oil and gas industries. Established in 1993, ASET is able to provide training to meet client requirements worldwide, providing tailor-made solutions to satisfy a range

of needs against company, national or international standards. Its facilities are arguably the finest of their kind anywhere in the world with more that £10 million of investment in equipment and high fidelity insulators.

The Scottish Maritime Academy is one of Scotland’s premier maritime training providers serving the commercial, energy and fishing sectors. A purpose- built £1.2 million facility overlooking the port of Peterhead attracts students from all over the world. It houses the latest radio and navigation equipment including a state-of-the-art Transas full bridge marine simulator.

To find out more about NESCol and the choices available, go to www.nescol.ac.uk

North East Scotland College (NESCol) has always been ambitious, not only for the quality of its teaching but also for the buildings and facilities which form its estate. In May 2016 it launched its £40 million ‘vision’ for the future of its City Campus which puts students at the heart of the College and new life into the City Centre.

Recent works to the City Campus include the refurbishment of the Tower Basement (in two stages) at a cost of £6 million and the Tower & East Block over-clad/re-roof at a cost of £8 million. Now plans to refurbish the internal floors are underway.

Earlier this year, BDP Architects were appointed by the College to conduct research and make recommendations. The research has now been completed and plans have been drawn up to alter the existing three buildings to meet curriculum challenges and create a central hub for the student population and surrounding community.

This is an ambitious project which if approved, would transform the Campus. It will take buildings built in the 60s and 70s, which have little flexibility, and create a variety of different spaces suitable for one-to-one or group, flexible or specialist, private or collaborative.

The biggest change will be the South Block at a cost of £28 million which will be refurbished to create a new ‘heart’ for the College. This will provide high quality spaces for learning and student support with a variety of areas all centred around the existing courtyards that will be covered over to create atrium space. This will also provide a large, exciting, fit for purpose, social space on the Aberdeen City Campus - a place for socialising, study and informal meetings.

There is the opportunity to create a ‘College High Street’ by relocating community facing facilities to the ground floor of the South Block. This could include a Health and Fitness Suite, a College bakery / shop, exhibition space and entrepreneurship incubation units, thus creating the opportunity of real life learning scenarios for the students.

A combined Student Services Hub would be included and this will be the first time that all these services are co-located. The atrium roof could extend over the footprint of the courtyard at roof level and lead to an exciting external terrace space. Externally the South Block will be over-clad as per the rest of the Campus and a new College Main Entrance will be created.

As identified by the Aberdeen City Centre Masterplan, there is also the option to provide high quality conference space in the heart of the City, especially out with term time, thus providing an additional revenue stream for the College.

To view the new plans please visit www.nescol.ac.uk/why-nescol/estatesvision where further information and images can be found.