These are the jobs Scottish financial services recruiters are struggling to fill

If you have good experience in credit risk, IT middleware, collateral and derivatives or fund administration/accountancy, there are Scottish FS employers looking for you.

Mike Leeman at recruiter Bright Purple in Edinburgh says: "Credit risk analysts and managers with experience in examining possible risk areas, setting policy, and building functionality are all in short supply in Scotland."

Employers also want to hear from management information (MI) specialists with the capacity to interpret data and present meaningful reports, and in the IT arena, middleware specialists (for non-techies, that is software that mediates between an application program and a network).

Credit risk analysts and MI roles command around £35k-£65k in Scotland, which is lower than the rate for equivalent roles in London, according to Leeman. IT salaries, however, tend to be on a par with London.

"But lower salaries may go further here," he says. "Lower travel and housing costs mean that even if you take a £5k-£10k pay cut to come here, you may be just as well off."

Another Scottish recruitment insider identifies high demand for collateral and derivatives specialists across the Scottish industry, among companies such as State Street, HSBC, BNY Mellon and JPMorgan.

Edinburgh in particular faces a shortage of candidates of fund administrators and accountant roles.

"Some collateral and derivatives roles have been moved up from London already, others are on their way here, but there are not many candidates to fill them," he says. Pay for collateral and derivates team managers is around £40k-£50k in Scotland, and higher for more senior staff such as directors.

Similar roles pay around £60k and £70k in London, plus bonus, he says, and bonuses, as well as salaries, are lower in Scotland.

Back office and processing jobs generally pay less in Scotland. According to figures from Scottish Development International median earnings of customer services and administrative staff in Scotland are £19.2k compared with £27.6k in London.

So overall packages are not so generous in Scotland, but people are attracted by the lifestyle. A typical commute on Glasgow or Edinburgh is about 45 minutes - a hardly-imaginable luxury for people who face a daily two-hour slog into London.

Better still, perhaps, a 20 minute drive from the city puts you in the heart of the countryside, perhaps worth more than any amount of money.