Science

The UK science sector is a major contributor to the national economy and employs 1.2 million people. The UK is a world leader in many areas of science including the pharmaceutical and aerospace sciences. Despite this, there is a shortage of suitably qualified scientists in the UK. Closely related to the science sector is the medical and care sector in which scientists work in a range of areas to identify diseases, support medical staff and analyse data. The medical sector employs over 1.6 million people.Hertfordshire has one of the most productive life science industries in the world and has over 200 significant life sciences companies. It is home to some of the largest life science firms in the world including GSK, Roche, Merck, GE Healthcare and Easai. It also includes science parks such as Rothamstead Research and Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst.Further afield, scientist work in diverse fields including environmental science, materials testing and chemical engineering.The UK science jobs market is growing. Locally there are many major companies including AstraZeneca, Airbus, MBDA, Roche and GSK. There are also a wide range of smaller companies carrying out materials testing, drug safety tests or providing forensic services. Both multinational companies and smaller local companies are looking for people with scientific skills. These companies employ scientists from a range of backgrounds. There are over 100,000 life science and heath jobs in Hertfordshire.