Jobs in Wick

Living in Wick

You could forgive Wick for sometimes feeling like the over-looked middle kid in a big family; John O’Groats has the more famous name and neighbouring Thurso is the larger destination.

But to pass Wick by in favour of these two is to miss out. Wick is a thriving community – witness the new £60 million primary, secondary and community campus opened in the town this year.

The town stretches along both sides of Wick Bay, and was once the busiest herring port in Europe during the mid 19th century.

Technically there is Wick and Pulteneytown, named for Sir William Pulteney, a governor of the British Fisheries Society, who was behind its construction to find work for people who lost their homes inland during the clearances but the two have merged over the decades.

Today Wick has the Outer Harbour, the Inner Harbour, and the River Harbour, with breakwaters; the Inner Harbour is building a reputation for itself in the leisure boating sector.

Sir William also gave his name to Pulteney Distillery, which is the most northerly on the British mainland, and continues to make malt whisky using traditional methods nearly two centuries after its opening.

The Far North Line and the A9 are the main transport links, along with flights from Wick John O’Groats Airport linking to Aberdeen and Edinburgh. It was home to some of the first air services pioneered by Highland Airways in the 1930s between Wick, Kirkwall and Inverness. Ferries for the Northern Isles leave from Scrabster, Gills Bay and John O’Groats.

Jobs in Wick

The public sector, health care and decommissioning at Dounreay, plus agriculture, fishing and forestry are main employers, as it the tourism and hospitality industry along with retail and support sectors and transport.