Uzma joined the Scottish Government in 1999, after graduating with an economics degree from Glasgow University. She has worked extensively across departments, providing economic analysis and advice in a broad range of areas including enterprise, business and access to finance; health and resource allocation; education and lifelong learning; and also on providing economic advice and analysis on agriculture and the rural economy. Uzma has also covered policy roles overseeing Scotland’s rail electrification and infrastructure strategy and leading on fares policy in Transport Scotland.

In 2015, she joined the Chief Economist’s office and in her current role oversees the assessment of Scotland’s microeconomic performance, including analysis of business, investment and trade, labour market, skills and employability. She has also been developing the Scottish Government’s approach to inclusive growth under the umbrella of Scotland’s economic strategy.