4. THE PROFILE OF PEOPLE ON FTWISS
Data on FTWiSS Applicants
4.1 By April 2008, 8181 individuals had gained FTWiSS status. The following section looks to pull together the evidence about the characteristics of those applying in terms of gender, age, nationality, and level of education. Some data is also available in relation to the number of dependents those on FTWiSS have and where they have stayed whilst living in Scotland. The data available on those applying for FTWiSS is drawn from 2 main sources - application form data, and monitoring questionnaires - neither of which allow for a comprehensive, representative profile.
Gender
4.2 Around 60% of respondents to the FTWiSS monitoring questionnaire were male (see Table 1).
Table 1: Gender
| Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
|---|
% | % | % |
|---|
Female | 39 | 38 | 36 |
|---|
Male | 61 | 62 | 62 |
|---|
Decline to answer | / | / | 2 |
|---|
Total | 100 | 100 | 100 |
|---|
Base: All monitoring questionnaire respondents (wave 1: 705, wave 2: 162, wave 3: 201)
Source: FTWiSS monitoring questionnaire
Age
4.3 As Table 2 shows, the large majority of individuals on the Working in Scotland Scheme are young, with almost half of all applicants having been born after 1980, and 83% after 1975.
Table 2: Year of birth
| % |
|---|
1970 or earlier | 5 |
|---|
1971-1975 | 11 |
|---|
1976-1980 | 33 |
|---|
1981-1985 | 49 |
|---|
1986 or later | 3 |
|---|
| 100 |
Base: all individuals on FTWiSS June 2005 - April 2008 with usable data (8169)
Source: FTWiSS application form data
Nationality
4.4 In terms of nationality, one third of people on FTWiSS are of Indian nationality. A further quarter come from China, and just over one in ten are Nigerian (see Table 3).
Table 3: Top 10 Nationalities
| % |
|---|
India | 34 |
|---|
China | 26 |
|---|
Nigeria | 12 |
|---|
Pakistan | 5 |
|---|
United States of America | 5 |
|---|
Malaysia | 3 |
|---|
Ghana | 2 |
|---|
Taiwan | 1 |
|---|
Zimbabwe | 1 |
|---|
Canada | 1 |
|---|
Base: all individuals on FTWiSS June 2005 - April 2008 with usable data (8155)
Source: FTWiSS application form data
Dependents
4.5 As Table 4 shows, a very large majority of successful FTWiSS applicants did not bring dependants to Scotland.
Table 4: Number of dependants
| % |
|---|
None | 92 |
|---|
One | 5 |
|---|
Two | 2 |
|---|
Three or more | 2 |
|---|
Base: All individuals on FTWiSS May 2007 - April 2008 where information supplied (3283)
Source: FTWiSS application form data
Education
4.6 Looking at education, 69% of successful FTWiSS applicants studied to postgraduate level, most on taught postgraduate degree courses such as MScs. Almost one in five applied on the basis of an undergraduate degree, and 10% held an HND as their highest qualification (see Table 5).
Table 5: Level of qualification
| % |
|---|
HND | 5 |
|---|
Undergraduate degree | 11 |
|---|
Postgraduate diploma | 7 |
|---|
Taught postgraduate degree | 75 |
|---|
Research postgraduate | 2 |
|---|
Base: All individuals on FTWiSS May 2007 - April 2008 where information supplied (3241)
Source: FTWiSS application form data
Education Institution and Place of Residence
4.7 As Table 6 shows, most individuals on FTWiSS studied at universities in Scotland's four biggest cities, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee, and data from the monitoring questionnaire suggests that the majority of individuals continue to live in these places (Table 7).
Table 6: Educational establishment attended - all with more than 10 people
| % |
|---|
Robert Gordon University | 15.0 |
|---|
Napier University | 10.7 |
|---|
University of Glasgow | 4.1 |
|---|
Glasgow Caledonian University | 9.3 |
|---|
University of Aberdeen | 8.8 |
|---|
University of Strathclyde | 5.3 |
|---|
University of Edinburgh | 8.0 |
|---|
Heriot Watt University | 4.5 |
|---|
University of Dundee | 4.3 |
|---|
University of Abertay | 3.2 |
|---|
University of Stirling | 6.7 |
|---|
Queen Margaret University | 2.4 |
|---|
Glasgow College of Nautical Studies | 1.6 |
|---|
Paisley College/University of Paisley | 2.0 |
|---|
University of St Andrews | 1.3 |
|---|
Glasgow School of Art | 0.4 |
|---|
Base: All individuals on FTWiSS May 2007 - April 2008 where information provided (3182)
Source: FTWiSS application form data
Table 7: Place of residence
| Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
|---|
% | % | % |
|---|
Aberdeen | 24 | 25 | 21 |
|---|
Glasgow | 22 | 32 | 32 |
|---|
Edinburgh | 22 | 17 | 17 |
|---|
Dundee | 10 | 5 | 6 |
|---|
Midlothian | 9 | 10 | 12 |
|---|
Stirling | 2 | * | * |
|---|
East Lothian | 2 | * | 3 |
|---|
Perth and Kinross | 1 | * | * |
|---|
Fife | 1 | * | 3 |
|---|
Renfrewshire | 1 | * | * |
|---|
Aberdeenshire | / | / | * |
|---|
North Lanarkshire | / | / | * |
|---|
South Ayrshire | / | / | * |
|---|
Base: Monitoring questionnaire respondents who answered question (wave 1: 705, wave 2: 162; wave 3: 186)
Source: FTWiSS monitoring questionnaire
Other Sources
4.8 Other sources which comment on the profile of people interested in applying for FTWiSS include the Phase 1 Evaluation of the RAS (2006). In its assessment of queries to the RAS it found that people already living in Scotland or the UK were the most likely to enquire about FTWiSS and that they "tended to be young, with a higher level of education, good English, and students''. 25