One in five Scots forced to change jobs as pandemic puts strain on finances - survey

One in five people living in Scotland has been forced to change jobs because of declining opportunities in their sector amid the pandemic, new research suggests.

The survey has been released by Nesta as it revealed the semi-finalists for its rapid recovery challenge, including Udrafter (pictured) and Money Dashboard, which are both based in Edinburgh.

A similar proportion feel like they are living on the breadline during the crisis and three in ten say the upcoming festive period is putting an added strain on finances right now.

The survey has been released by Nesta, the innovation foundation, which recently launched a £3 million “rapid recovery challenge” to improve access to jobs and financial support for those impacted by Covid.

As a result of the challenge, 14 organisations, including several not-for-profits, have secured £125,000 each in funding to further develop and rapidly scale innovations that will improve people’s employment and financial prospects. Two of the semi-finalists, Udrafter and Money Dashboard, are based in Edinburgh.

Tris Dyson, managing director, Nesta Challenges, said: “As we continue to feel the economic impact of the pandemic, people up and down the country are facing severe threats to their job security and household finances, and it’s clear some are suffering more than others.

“There are a range of ideas out there that could make a real difference to those whose jobs and money have been impacted by the current crisis but organisations need to move at pace to get these tools into people’s hands in their moment of need. That’s why we launched the rapid recovery challenge.”

The challenge is funded by Nesta with support from the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), JPMorgan Chase and, most recently, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

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