Business Scotland 22

BusinessScotland Scottish Chambers of Commerce Magazine

Virtually connecting Scotland with the world CGI: creating a skilled IT workforce for the future Lochaber Chamber leads the way in local staff development

Apprenticeships are right at the heart of businesses’ plans for the future Scottish Chambers of Commerce

ISSUE 22

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BusinessScotland

CONTENTS

ISSUE 22

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37 SCOTTISH APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS 2021 BUSINESS BACKING TALENT AND DIVERSITY DUNDEE & ANGUS EMPLOYERS KICKSTART YOUTH EMPLOYMENT DRIVE SCOTRAIL UNVEILS PLAN TO BOOST APPRENTICE NUMBERS

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CGI’S GRADUATE APPRENTICESHIPS PROGRAMME IS CREATING A SKILLED SCOTTISH IT WORKFORCE FOR THE FUTURE LOCHABER CHAMBER LEADS THE WAY IN LOCAL STAFF DEVELOPMENT SKILLS ON THE MENU IN DUNBARTONSHIRE LOCAL BUSINESS SUCCESS CELEBRATED AT NORTHERN STAR BUSINESS AWARDS

Scottish Chambers of Commerce Business Partners

Front cover image: Saj Sharif, CEO and Founder, Zen Consultants Ltd

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CONNECTING WITH MONGOLIA ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO VIRTUALLY CONNECT SCOTLAND WITH THE WORLD CALMAC’S COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITIES IS REWARDED FAMILY ROOFING FIRM AWARDED MEMBERSHIP OF THE GUILD

Find your digital voice!

Engaging your brand with audiences that matter.

www.be-everywhere.co.uk | E: info@be-everywhere.co.uk | T: 0191 580 5990

FOREWORD

Supporting the workforce is critical if we are to come through this crisis In the previous edition, I said all businesses were impacted by the pandemic in one way or another and 2020 had been a year for businesses to adapt and overcome hurdles that we could not have predicted. That still rings true today with thousands of businesses still not fully re-open yet.

Through my engagement with Chamber members, I know that businesses in Scotland are close to exhaustion as they continue the slog through some of the most challenging trading conditions in modern history. But we have to look forward. At the end of a full 12 months of trading restrictions, there are signs of optimism as businesses looked forward to the effectiveness of the vaccination program and sectors slowly re-open.

However now is not the time to drop the ball. Governments new and not so new must commit to giving the business community the best possible deal if we are to create jobs and return to sustainable growth.

As part of our Scottish Elections engagement, we launched our Rally for Growth publication: a business-led action plan for the next Scottish Government.

If we are to come through this crisis, the next Government must act quickly and pass a Business Growth Act within the first 100 days of the government to address the most urgent issues facing businesses right now, including reducing upfront business costs, boosting international trade and upskilling our workforce.

Supporting the workforce is critical if we are to come through this crisis. That’s why I’m pleased to see such a great focus on apprenticeships in this edition.

From my own experience of collaborating with apprentices, the value they bring to any business is abundantly clear. From increasing productivity to supporting succession planning, to accessing specialist skills and engaging in new technologies, apprenticeships are an important lever for all businesses to access and develop their own talent.

Tim Allan

President, Scottish Chambers of Commerce

I hope you enjoy this edition of Business Scotland magazine.

Remember, your local Chamber of Commerce is here to support your business. If you need support, connections, advice or guidance, just get in touch with our Chamber Experts across Scotland.

(Contact details on page 56)

Featured Stories and Contributors Dr Liz Cameron OBE

Alison McGregor

Malcolm Roughead

Tim Allan

Liz Connolly

Wayne Paul

Saj Sharif

Angela Cox

Eureka Solutions

Director & Chief Executive, Scottish Chambers of Commerce

President, Scottish Chambers of Commerce

CEO and Founder of Zen Consultants Ltd

Co-chair of Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board Group Board

President of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce

Principal of Borders College

CEO, VisitScotland

Industrial Liaison Officer, University of Dundee

Business Scotland

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SCOTTISH APPRENTICES

Apprenticeships are right at the heart of businesses’ plans for the future That’s the message from firms who won accolades at the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards.

The spotlight was shone on the achievements of apprentices, employers and learning providers from different industries across the country, at a virtual awards ceremony, delivered by Skills Development Scotland.

Balfour Beatty were crowned Large Employer of the Year and the UK’s leading construction and infrastructure company currently has 70 apprentices learning in Scotland.

Community Benefits Advisor John Cairns believes apprenticeships are hugely important because they cultivate the business leaders of the future and stresses Balfour Beatty are still committed to investing in the development of young people.

John said: “Apprentices are the future experts of our industry. At Balfour Beatty, we have a strong track record of apprentices progressing through the company; in fact, two of our Managing Directors are former apprentices.

“The benefits apprentices bring to the organisation are vital and the progression from Modern to Graduate Apprenticeship has been important in allowing us to retain talent.”

Kelso’s Scotmas Group won the SME Employer of the Year award, sponsored by SQA, and CEO Alistair Cameron believes

John Cairns

Saj Sharif

the company’s excellent apprenticeship programme has enabled them to develop talent on their doorstep while also establishing their reputation as a worldclass operator.

specialist industry – we export and work internationally.

The world-leading chlorine dioxide specialist offers Modern Apprentices the opportunity to progress on to Graduate Apprenticeships, which enables the company to attract and retain young talent in the Borders.

He added: “We’re a company that is based in a rural area of Scotland and work in a very

Apprentices are the future experts of our industry. At Balfour Beatty, we have a strong track record of apprentices progressing through the company; in fact, two of our Managing Directors are former apprentices.

John Cairns, Community Benefits Advisor, Balfour Beatty

“We can’t pick staff up on the shelf with the experience and expertise that we need.

It’s a fundamental requirement for us to be competitive in our international markets and that our staff are trained, competent and qualified to do the work.

“Being able to offer high-quality job opportunities in the local area is very important to us – we’re firmly rooted in the local community.”

The Scottish Apprenticeship Awards recognised the resilience and hard work of Foundation, Modern and Graduate Apprentices as well as employers who invest in their workforce.

Samir Khan-Young also won Graduate Apprentice of the Year for excelling in his role; which included working night shifts in order to produce PPE for the NHS. Samir was one of a number of winners at the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards, co-ordinated

by Skills Development Scotland, who had shown resilience over the past year.

The 25-year-old Engineering: Design and

Business Scotland

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SCOTTISH APPRENTICES

Samir Khan-Young

Graduate Apprentice of the Year

Manufacture Graduate Apprenticeship with Thales said: “It was great to put my skills to good use during lockdown as part of the nightshift team who were making PPE for NHS staff. It was a rewarding experience.”

Having previously completed a Modern Apprenticeship at Thales, Samir was aware that a Graduate Apprenticeship was the natural progression.

Samir, who also plays for Shettleston Football Club, said: “I knew that a Graduate Apprenticeship was the perfect next step for me to progress after my Modern Apprenticeship.

“My award is a direct reflection of the support and encouragement my colleagues have given me, which has allowed me to grow professionally.”

Other apprentice winners included: Annabel Stewart of Charles River Laboratories, winner of Foundation Apprentice of the Year prize, Ciara Phillips, of Morgan Stanley Modern Apprentice of the Year – Level 5 award, Tamara Kamal, of NHS Lothian won Modern Apprentice of Year Level 6 category and Cameron MacDonald of Diageo won the Apprentice Ambassador of the Year.

BAE Systems’ Marie Brennan was named Instructor of the Year after the Apprentice and Skills Development Leader was recognised for helping 180 apprentices to fulfil their potential over the past 13 years.

Harper MacLeod won the Large Employer of the Year – Promoting Diversity category while the SME Employer of the Year – Promoting Diversity prize was awarded to Edinburgh accountancy firm Zen Consultants.

Zen CEO Saj Sharif urges other businesses to back apprenticeships and reap the rewards.

Saj said: “My advice would be to do it. Taking on an apprentice will benefit your business because you will be shaping an employee into becoming an asset.”

Livingston’s Openreach training school was presented with the Innovation in Learning Provision Award for the adaptions it made to Modern Apprentices.

Chair of Skills Development Scotland, Frank Mitchell said: "Businesses backing talent through apprenticeships will play a crucial

Annabel Stewart

Foundation Apprentice of the Year

role in supporting Scotland’s recovery from the pandemic.

"The Scottish Apprenticeship Awards show the value apprentices add to employers and the economy.”

Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair work and Culture, Fiona Hyslop, said: “Apprenticeships will play a major part in our economic recovery.

“I offer my heartfelt thanks to all our apprentices, and the businesses supporting them. Your continuous hard work and commitment during this incredibly challenging time is appreciated by everyone.

“This Apprentice of the Year award is a fantastic achievement and Samir should be thoroughly proud of himself. We are right behind him and will continue to do everything we can to support our apprentices and young people.”

It was great to put my skills to good use during lockdown as part of the nightshift team who were making PPE for NHS staff. It was a rewarding experience.

Samir Khan-Young, Graduate Apprentice of the Year Winner

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SCOTTISH APPRENTICES

Scottish Apprenticeships: helping businesses, the economy and giving people ‘a chance’ I’ve always had a keen interest in apprenticeships, being a former one myself, and this had continued throughout my career into senior leadership and as part of my role as Co-Chair of the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) – the ‘voice of industry’ on Scottish apprenticeships.

I was therefore delighted to be asked to speak at a recent event – Business Backing Talent - to help launch #ScotAppWeek21.

The event was hosted by Charandeep Singh, Deputy Chief Executive at Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) and had speakers from fellow SAAB member organisations (Openreach, Balfour Beatty and SCC themselves). They delivered the same, clear message – a call for Scottish firms not to give up on our young people and to think about apprenticeships as a way to inject fresh talent and ideas into a business while giving someone ‘a chance’.

We heard from Fraser Rowberry and Scott Baker from Openreach who illustrated the importance of apprentices, who were very much at the front line of delivering essential services. Despite the challenges of Covid-19 in 2020-21, Openreach has developed agile ways of working in the new virtual environment and continued to recruit and train apprentices with over 1,000 starts across the UK. Bethany Welsh, a graduate apprentice from Balfour Beatty talked about the high-profile projects she has had the opportunity to work on as an apprentice, such as Inveramsay Bridge and West Ham’s stadium refurbishment. Now an apprentice ambassador, it was fascinating to hear Bethany explain how her friends, who chose university, now sit with a similar engineering degree but that Bethany also has seven years industry experience over and above her peers.

I started my career as an apprentice in banking. I was almost 16 when my father died and I decided to leave school and start working. By the age of 21 I was qualified,

Alison McGregor

Co-chair of Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board Group Board

had some excellent experience, a deposit for my first flat and was already taking two holidays per year. I did think about going back to university as had been my initial plan, but thankfully my head overruled my heart, otherwise I would have been on a very expensive pathway to smoothing out a chip on my shoulder about not going through the traditional academic route. I became CEO for HSBC I also sat on the Board of Scottish

I am also very proud to be the Co-chair of SAAB which gives me the chance to connect with such a diverse range of talented leaders and innovative business leaders, all on a subject I care very deeply about.

Alison McGregor, Co-chair of Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board Group Board

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Enterprise and was Chair of CBI Scotland.

I am also very proud to be the Co-chair of SAAB which gives me the chance to connect with such a diverse range of talented leaders and innovative business leaders, all on a subject I care very deeply about.

We’ve enabled a switch in the system from being government-led, to now being industry-led. We ensure that the design, development and approval of apprenticeships in Scotland is done through the leadership of SAAB and that employers are in the driving seat. Overall, our aim is to ensure that apprenticeships are ‘future-fit’ and reflect the needs of industry.

The pathway for apprenticeships is clear and my message delivered to employers will remain steadfast. As employers, getting behind apprenticeships will help your business, the Scottish economy and significantly, our young people who – especially at this time - really deserve ‘a chance’.

SCOTTISH APPRENTICES

Foundation Apprenticeships Across Scotland, a growing number of businesses recognise the importance and value of investing in a pipeline of new talent through Foundation Apprenticeships.

At last week’s Scottish Apprenticeship Awards, the spotlight was shone on talented young people, who have blossomed after starting Foundation Apprenticeships.

Annabel Stewart was crowned Foundation Apprentice of the Year at the virtual awards ceremony, delivered by Skills Development Scotland, due to her successful apprenticeship with Charles River Laboratories, Edinburgh.

The company currently employs two Modern Apprentices and has taken on nine Foundation Apprentices to create the next generation of trained and dedicated employees.

Charles River Laboratories Study Director Fiona Ross believes Foundation Apprenticeships are the right way forward in order to identify and recruit talented young people into the Science Industry.

She said: “From an employer perspective, offering Foundation Apprenticeships is so worthwhile; they allow young people to get interested in scientific careers and we’re able to educate them on lab skills.

We offer lots of on-the-job training to Foundation Apprentices and they tend to develop brilliantly.”

Foundation Apprenticeships are taken alongside Highers and Nationals as a school subject in senior phase over one or two academic years.

Through a Foundation Apprenticeship, pupils spend time out of school with a learning provider, such as a college, and gain valuable workplace experience with an employer.

Wiktoria Bak

Completion then leads to a qualification at the same level as a Higher, which can support progression on to a job, such as a Modern or Graduate Apprenticeship, or entry into college or university.

IT company Boxportable are seeing the benefits of Foundation Apprenticeships for unearthing new talent and awards finalist Matthew Robertson is proof of that.

Managing Director Graeme Anderson praised 18-year-old Matthew’s approach to his duties and said: “Foundation Apprentices bring fresh ideas to the

Foundation Apprentices bring fresh ideas to the company and they are worthy contributors. We give Foundation Apprentices, like Matthew, a chance to prove themselves and gain valuable workplace experience.

Graeme Anderson, Managing Director

company and they are worthy contributors.

We give Foundation Apprentices, like Matthew, a chance to prove themselves and gain valuable workplace experience.”

West Dunbartonshire Council apprentice Wiktoria Bak was also shortlisted for the award and her manager, Tracy Monaghan championed the merits of Foundation Apprenticeships.

Tracy said: “Foundation Apprenticeships give young people an opportunity to sample a line of work and decide if that’s where they see their future. They develop workplace skills, alongside theory, that they wouldn’t get at school.

“Foundation Apprenticeships give young people a level of understanding which puts them ahead of others when they move on to their next journey and it also gives them an opportunity to sample a career before fully-committing to it.

“I absolutely love the Foundation Apprenticeship programme – I think it is great. It empowers young people and allows them to stand out. They’re a nobrainer for school pupils.”

Business Scotland

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SCOTTISH APPRENTICES

Business backing talent and diversity Saj Sharif, CEO and Founder of Zen Consultants Ltd is the winner of the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards 2020, SME Equality and Diversity category and is a member of Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board’s Employer Equalities group.

By Saj Sharif CEO and Founder, Zen Consultants Ltd

My first few steps in finance consultancy started with tax returns, helping small businesses. My book-keeping clientbase continued to grow and by the time I graduated university with a degree in accountancy 2013, I had over 60 different SME clients.

As my business grew, so did my workforce requirements. We had struggled to find suitable staff through traditional recruitment methods such as advertising and agencies.

The people didn’t always fit culturally, and I wanted employees who already had a natural interest in the subject matter with a sense of investment in what we are trying to achieve.

As an active member of the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board’s (SAAB) Employer Equalities Group, I was already passionate about supporting people, businesses and tackling inequalities.

Through the Board I had access to knowledge, best practice and practical information around apprenticeships, the benefits they bring to companies, the

importance of shaping talent as your business develops and the concept of investing in our young people and giving them ‘a chance’.

As an employer, it’s important I ‘walk the walk’ – and as an advocate of work-based learning, equalities and supporting SMEs, I need to put those values into practice.

This inspired me to consider an apprentice straight from school. My view was, it would be like having a clean slate where we could grow our own talent and nurture someone at an early stage. I was set on training up, young, keen people who were hungry to learn in a way which aligned with our business structure and culture and I interviewed and employed my first Modern Apprentice.

Now that I have successfully employed my first few apprentices, I don’t see any other route for me. I currently have two apprentices, with two additional trainees about to start. Since taking them on, my business has grown by 56% in clients overall.

It’s so important to me that Zen works by the principles of diversity and inclusion.

It’s something that I’ve always been passionate about but my work as part of the Employer Equalities Group within the Advisory Board helps to translate this into actionable change.

SAAB represents the ‘voice of industry’ in Scottish apprenticeships. Its membership spans across employers, of all sectors and sizes and the Employer Equalities Group forms part of this. We are a group of employers with the aim of providing insight into good practice and the latest strategies that are working well to help improve access and participation in apprenticeships. ​ ome of the work we’ve done can involve S shaping and devising advice to employers

As an employer, it’s important I ‘walk the walk’ – and as an advocate of work-based learning, equalities and supporting SMEs, I need to put those values into practice. This inspired me to consider an apprentice straight from school.

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SCOTTISH APPRENTICES

to help them achieve better diversity. A key thing for us is that any sense of bias – whether that be in relation to ethnicity, gender, LGBT+ and more – is removed from the recruitment process We’ve worked with Skills Development Scotland to examine successful case studies on things like ‘anonymous recruitment’ to see how we can share these lessons learned with businesses in a way that they can easily adopt.

As a member of the Employer Equalities Group, I’m an advocate for diversity and I try to lead by example within my own organisation, sector and my professional networks. It is important that apprenticeships are open to all, to ensure a broad and diverse talent pool.

One of our Modern Apprentices who is currently being upskilled is active within her Romanian community and it means that we now attract business from Romanian speakers since we can facilitate clients

who aren’t fully fluent in English yet. I speak Spanish, Punjabi and Urdu and my business has become well known in the Asian community - I have never needed to advertise - and we can service client’s needs who don’t have English as a first language.

We are a very diverse and mixed-race team and our whole culture is about embracing this, using it as a unique selling point and making us, our multi-cultural, multilingual service stand out from the crowd.

I would say to other smaller business out there, take a chance and give our young people an opportunity to flourish through an apprenticeship. I know – from working with many sole traders, micro businesses and SMEs - that they quite often dismiss the idea of taking on an apprentice as administratively sluggish, cumbersome and not providing a quick enough return on investment. My response, to them is simple - that’s nonsense. The training provider does so much handholding through

the process, especially with smaller firms, that they take care of the majority of admin. And part of the funding for Modern Apprenticeships is covered off already.

Graduate Apprenticeships don’t even cost the employer a penny as this is paid for directly by the college or university.

Running an SME can have its own very particular difficulties, and I’ve experienced pitfalls and challenges along the way, trying to juggle work with being a full-time accountant, director, mother-of-three and returning to education late as a mature student. Embedding apprenticeships as part of your business is only as difficult as your assumptions will make it. In the long run, giving that chance to a young person (or person of any age to reskill or upskill) will pay dividends to your business and its culture. You just have to open your eyes and broaden your talent pool to see it. Here at Zen we are a business backing talent - I truly hope others follow in our footsteps.

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Dundee & Angus Employers Kickstart youth employment drive Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce (DACC) local businesses to create 114 job placements for young people looking for the next step on the job ladder.

Following the awarding of funding totalling nearly £900,000, the Chamber will help firms bring an army of young people into quality paid work placements which will see young people gain valuable experience, training and life changing support.

Employers signing up via the Chamber Gateway are offering a wide range of roles, from catering and property maintenance, to finance, digital marketing, football coaching, gardening, animator and e-bike mechanic.

There IS a role for every young person who needs this vital help at a time when they are being adversely affected by unemployment during this crisis.

DACC has brought three Kickstart administrators into the organisation to work on key projects for the next six month: Amber Farquhar joins the International team to work on a new e-learning programme to help businesses upskill their staff around customs, importing and exporting. Gemma McGregor joins the Kickstart team to deliver administrative services and wrap-around support for all the Kickstart candidates and employers, and Gemma Blackie is working alongside the Chamber CEO to deliver strategic & leadership support.

Alison Henderson, Chamber CEO said “I’m very proud of my colleagues and all of the employers who have stepped up to support so many young people go from unemployment to gaining quality work experience. We’ll be working with the employers to see how many new jobs will be created and how these young people can transition into the roles. We’re also ensuring that the young people receive lots of training and career guidance to help them achieve

their work goals, putting them at the heart of this programme.”

associated employer National Insurance contributions

There’s still plenty of time for employers to apply for funding from DWP via the Chamber.

employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions

Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers: 100% of the National Minimum Wage (or the National Living Wage depending on the age of the participant) for 25 hours per week for a total of 6 months

Employers can spread the start date of the job placements up until the end of December 2021. Further funding is available for training and support so that young people on the scheme can get a job in the future.

I’m very proud of my colleagues and all of the employers who have stepped up to support so many young people go from unemployment to gaining quality work experience.

Alison Henderson, Chamber CEO

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BUSINESS PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

ScotRail unveils plan to boost apprentice numbers ScotRail is unveiling ambitious plans to swell the number of apprenticeships they offer over the next five years.

The financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic means apprenticeships in Scotland are down 75 per cent year on year, and, according to the Scottish Government, the unemployment rate of 16-24-year olds could increase to more than 20 per cent because of the impact of COVID-19.

To help combat this, ScotRail is setting ambitious targets in its Early Careers strategy. Currently, the rail franchise employs 22 apprentices, but the objective is to increase this tenfold by 2025.

ScotRail is also to offer a clear career pathway with opportunities for existing staff to take advantage of new and innovative early careers programmes and the company will engage more extensively with Scottish schools in each of the mainland local authority areas. This includes plans for enhanced placement partnerships and graduate and intern programmes.

Current Customer Service apprentice Billie Irvine, 19, said: “I would say go ahead and apply to ScotRail for an apprenticeship because it does bring out really good opportunities.

“I couldn’t believe it when ScotRail offered to take me on after I lost my job at Gemini.

“It meant I could still work in the rail industry which I love and now I’ve got a lot more options to choose from when I finish my apprenticeship.”

Neil Archibald, ScotRail Head of Strategic Workforce Planning, said: “We need to increase the numbers and broaden the scale of apprenticeships that we offer.

“It’s a great way to get into the company because you’re getting to explore all the parts of the business and you’re getting experience in it all.”

“And, the skills aren’t just about working on trains. Often the apprentices go off into a number of roles that could be very different to the programme that they went through.

The train operator also took on two teenagers who lost their jobs when the Gemini rail works in Glasgow was mothballed in 2019.

“Past apprentices are now working in our social media team, in our HR department and in management roles across the organisation.

One of them, Dylan Hutchison, 20, who is a fourth-year engineering apprentice, said:

“I want ScotRail to be seen as an employer of choice for young people and to change the perception of the company when young folk are looking for employment.”

ScotRail is also supporting the Young Persons Guarantee, which was launched in November 2020 to help protect young people from the economic impacts of COVID-19.

them in education or work. Scotland’s employers are being asked to support the Guarantee in up to five different ways and ScotRail is proud to announce our commitment and support.

“We plan to provide this support through offering opportunities in apprenticeships, work experience, and volunteering.

“ScotRail is looking forward to working with the Scottish Government, its partners and other employers to provide the best opportunities we can for our most affected young people, particularly following the COVID pandemic.”

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop, said: “Apprenticeships are a key part of our work to support our young people, who have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic.

“The Scottish Government is committed to helping our young people and we have dedicated £25 million to increase apprenticeship opportunities in response to Covid-19.

“Not only do these valuable opportunities provide essential experience to progress, they are also hugely beneficial to our employers and businesses.

Its aim is that all 16-24 year-olds in Scotland will be either in paid employment, education, an apprenticeship or training programme, or engaged on a formal volunteering or supported activity programme within two years.

“Apprenticeships are also a crucial aspect of our million Young Person’s Guarantee, which since November has created around 18,000 opportunities for people aged between 16 and 24 to help them into work, education or training.

Suzanne Sherry, ScotRail Early Careers Manager, said: “The Young Persons Guarantee is about supporting young people with opportunities that help keep

“I want our young people and employers to know we support you and will continue to do all we can to build a strong economic recovery for Scotland.”

Business Scotland

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RACE TO ZERO

Planning ahead for a cleaner more active commute Now is the time to be planning ahead and looking at your workplace travel planning measures and to see how you can encourage and support your employees to change to a greener commute. As an employer, we should look to implement the right policies to support employees working from home longer term and ultimately reduce the need to travel as much as we used to.

For many it’s likely that a blended approach to office and home working will be the new normal.

The past year has demonstrated that, as a nation, we can change our travel behaviour and in many cases our working patterns too. This is now the time to put in place measures and support to enable your employees to maintain these changes in travel behaviour in 2021 and beyond.

Travelknowhow Scotland is an online resource which offers organisations across Scotland FREE, easy access to a wide variety of travel planning solutions which help with the development and implementation of measures to engage with their employees in order to start changing travel behaviour to and from their own workplace.

The website offers: access to travel planning information and links to local resources; specialist travel planning advice;

Encouraging more active and sustainable travel options to employees not only has a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of your workforce but brings with it significant business benefits too. save money on the cost of providing and maintaining parking spaces save money on energy bills in offices as well as reviewing office lease arrangements. solve problems caused by demand for parking cut mileage claims and other business travel costs reduce staff downtime spent travelling on business reduce the costs of running a fleet solve delivery and customer access problems caused by traffic congestion around your site

specialist marketing advice to aid employee engagement;

improve your image with both customers, suppliers and neighbours

practical hints and tips; and

improve staff health and reduce absenteeism

adaptable downloadable templates aimed at providing cost effective internal and external communications.

help recruit and keep staff by making journeys to work easier and cheaper

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Significant business benefits to be gained

improve your corporate social responsibility reputation.

Stay Travel Safe Make sure you are providing employees with the most up to date information.

Visit www.transport.gov.scot

We can provide FREE hands on support Book your FREE consultancy time and let us help you to plan ahead. Get in touch today at info@travelknowhowscotland.co.uk You can also find us at: www.facebook.com/tkhscotland/ and www.linkedin.com/company/ travel-know-how-scotland/

RACE TO ZERO

The business benefits of workplace EV charging schemes As electric car use grows, forward-thinking businesses are realising the benefits of installing workplace EV charging points for employees and visitors.

Moray Robertson, managing director of Moray Robertson Electrical Services, is an expert in the renewable energy field and his family firm is at the forefront of the charge point installation market.

“Installing EV points at the workplace makes real sense from a business viewpoint and as more people adopt electric cars, it will become an increasingly important facility for both employees and visitors,” he says.

“And for businesses running an EV fleet, it’s an essential operating factor as well as a move which can save them money and cut their carbon footprint.”

Employees benefit from the convenience of being able to charge their electric or hybrid vehicle during the day while work-based chargers may be an added incentive when it comes to attracting customers to a retail site.

They also allow company electric cars to be charged when not in use rather than relying on other, potentially more expensive, EV networks.

And if business owners offer free charging to their employees and visitors, it’s a great way to incentivise electric car usage and reduce carbon emissions.

Mr Robertson says: “It’s a good idea to get ahead of the curve now and take advantage of the grants and capital allowances available to businesses which cut the cost of installing workplace charging units.”

MRES offers a one-stop shop for installing EV workplace charge points - offering advice on the best products, sourcing and fitting units as well as dealing with grant funding applications.

Grants are available from the Government’s Office for Low Emission

Vehicles (OLEV) and MRES are one of the organisation’s approved installers for its Workplace Charging Scheme.

For more information on EV charging and to be guided through the whole process, get in touch with MRES via the website www.mresstirling.co.uk

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RACE TO ZERO

Why we need to rethink the way we travel moving forward Travelknowhow Scotland is calling on Scottish businesses to start planning ahead to encourage a more climate-friendly commute, with transport currently the largest contributor to UK domestic greenhouse gas emissions, according to Government statistics.

In a year which the United Nation’s COP26 will be hosted in Glasgow, the UK is making global leading strides in its efforts to tackle climate change, committing to a new legal target to cut carbon emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 and a third of the FTSE 100 pledging to the ‘Race to Zero’ campaign.

as a result of home-based working and legal restrictions on travel, but as we begin to look towards the return to workplaces, we can expect to see these surge. A reduction public transport may see many who used buses and trains for their daily commute now opt for personal car usage instead.

The progress in the commitment to climate change is steadily proving positive, with CO2 now down to just 50 per cent of 1990 levels in areas including heat, industry and agriculture. However, one area – transport – remains a lesser touched issue, despite contributing to 28 per cent of the UK’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions.

In order to counter the issue and support efforts to reduce carbon contributions from transport, businesses should look to implement sustainable travel initiatives within their workplace that encourage a reduction in the need to travel to work wherever possible, as well as encouraging more active and sustainable travel choices for journeys that need to be made.

Travelknowhow, a Scottish-based organisation providing free workplace travel planning guidance, believe that all businesses across the private, public and third-sectors can play a pivotal role in helping to change the way we think about commuting and business travel moving forward.

Over the last year, road traffic and petrol and diesel sales have had a dramatic decrease

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There are plenty of approaches that businesses can take with their travel initiatives, including supporting longer term working from home, encouraging employees to cycle to work over driving a few days per week or even incentivising greener commutes through walk to work competitions.

More flexible working allows employees reliant on buses and trains to travel during off-peak times and ensure a safe commute to the workplace, and access to cycle lockers and changing facilities can encourage employees to change their travel behaviour.

It is about knowing what measures offer the best fit for your workplace.

Following a series of successful workshops throughout February and March 2021, Travelknowhow Scotland is currently offering businesses in Scotland the opportunity to book FREE consultancy time and access valuable, hands-on support for their specific workplace, allowing businesses to develop workplace travel planning measures that work for their employees, their business and the environment.

Contact info@travelknowhowscotland.co.uk or visit www.travelknowhowscotland.co.uk to learn more about how your workplace can get some FREE hands-on support.

RACE TO ZERO

EV hubs on the rise in Dundee Dundee is regarded as Scotland’s leading city in the adoption, promotion and operation of electric vehicles. It is Scotland’s only Go Ultra Low City, promoting itself as a model for the uptake of EVs. Dundee City Council has been involved in various EV infrastructure and vehicle deployment projects including the introductions of 5 fully electric HGV’s, the trial of Innovate UK Pop-up chargers and many more including the EV multi-storey car park project.

In June 2018, the multi-storey EV charging hub project was awarded funding as part of the Low Carbon Travel and Transport Challenge Fund established by Transport Scotland from funds awarded by the ERDF programme and Transport Scotland funds to support an increased proportion on ultralow emission vehicles on Scotland’s roads.

The first EV charging hub in a multistory car park opened in 2019 and already proved a popular hub for city centre business owners, workers, shoppers and visitors during the day. Thanks to COVID19 and lockdown restrictions, there was a 12-month delay in completing and opening the second multistorey charging hub.

Much of the city centre housing in Dundee consists of tenements and multistory flats.

Except for a limited provision of private car parks linked to flats, these are residential areas where dedicated off-street parking is often not an option. With private EV ownerships in Dundee expected to grow in line with national trends it was proposed to build three EV charging hubs in the city centre multistory car parks. When all three EV multistory charging hubs (Green Market, Olympia and Gellatly Street) are open, they will provide an extra 60 charge point connections across the city. As more than 50% of the population don’t have a driveway or off-street parking to enable EV charging, this development will allow those households to consider an EV as a feasible choice in the future. The carparks are open 24 hours and day, seven days a week for

city visitors and commuters into the city during the day and for residents for night. It currently costs EV users 15p per kW with a 38p connection fee to charge their vehicle.

Dundee currently have an established “residency scheme” where locals are able to park and charge for free. The project supports the air quality improvements in some of the most populated areas of the city. The central locations support wider economic interests by enabling and encouraging emission free journeys in the city centre with potential benefits to local businesses tourists, shoppers and visitors.

Now Dundee have two multi-storey car parks with EV hubs located on the top floors. Each hub has 10 chargers (each with two connectors), solar capacity and battery storage. This will be also be the first large scale trial of an innovative new technology that’s uses a “controller receiver” configuration of EV charging points to reduce equipment and operational costs by managing electrical demand on the grid. The controller unit acts as a communications hub allowing for the quick and easy addition of charging units as anticipated demand increases. This allows Dundee City Council to increase the number of chargers in the future. The hub set-up allows smart charging of EVs, offering the potential to better manage supply and demand on the grid. Another example of this, is by installing solar panels and battery storage system it then integrates more renewable energy and enable variable charging of vehicles

when demand is lower, helping reduce environmental impacts associated with electricity generation. The main differences between the two carparks is the solar configuration. Due to the structural capacity of the car park we were unable to install solar canopies found at Green Market and have instead installed solar PV groundmounting buckets. The solar generated is the still the same at 36. This is the first time that charge points have been deployed at scale in a multi-storey car park in Scotland and will provide valuable learning on how this can be done across the country. By Summer 2021, the third and final carpark will be completed setting Dundee ahead of any other city in EV charging options.

Energy Saving Trust are the administrators of the LCTT Challenge Fund Project. The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-2020 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow: @scotgovES

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BUSINESS PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

CGI’s successful Graduate Apprenticeships Programme is creating a skilled Scottish IT workforce for the future

Ever since CGI established its presence in Scotland, the Canadian global IT and business consulting services company has prided itself in supporting the growth of the Scottish digital economy by investing in a skilled workforce.

By Kirsty Ramsay Vice President Consulting Delivery, CGI

This ambition has been realised in its consistent ability to innovate when it comes to finding the next generation of coders, cyber security experts and systems engineers.

Students study towards a BSc Honours – in Software Development at Glasgow Caledonian or IT Management for Business at Napier – while also spending time to develop their career on real-life projects at the company, which has offices in both cities, and with a paid starting salary of £19,000.

At the heart of CGI’s commitment to communities, partnerships and STEM is

Currently CGI has 13 graduate apprentices in Scotland, seven of them hired since

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its Graduate Apprenticeships Programme.

CGI works in partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University and Edinburgh Napier University to attract young people with a passion for technology and a hunger to learn.

September 2018. Such a focus on the talent of tomorrow shows the embryonic nature of CGI’s growth in Scotland – the establishment of a generation of young indigenous talent for CGI, as well as a growing highly-skilled Scottish workforce that helps builds Scotland’s reputation for digital excellence.

Maria Whittingham knows first-hand the benefits of the apprenticeship scheme as she completed her Sponsored Degree Apprenticeship with CGI in 2017. She is now a Student Recruitment Specialist at the company.

She says: “Our apprentices are the key

BUSINESS PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

to the future of the business in Scotland.

Apprenticeships provide us with the ability to bring the best young talent into our workforce, and our programmes are tailored and targeted at tech-talented people who are looking for roles in areas such as software development and coding.

“Through our students, we are seeing a massive positive impact on the whole CGI workforce. Not only do apprentices enhance their own skills and gain real-time experience at the front line of a specialist IT business like CGI, they help drive the company forward by providing innovative ideas and a new perspective to their teams and the wider business.”

Maria says CGI has enjoyed a high retention level of apprentices, with all going into full-time employment in the company after completing their honours degrees.

She said: “We work closely with our training providers to make sure our apprentices are learning skills that they can apply practically to their work with CGI. “But we have also put into place an early careers support structure which is tied into continuous development opportunities for our apprentices. The result is they look forward to the structured training, hands-on learning and support and encouragement that’s there to help them get their tech careers off to a strong start.

“And of course we also find our apprentices enjoy the benefits of a permanent, full-time employment contract.

and has been nominated for the final of Apprentice of the Year.

She said: “The traditional path of a university degree followed by a job wasn’t sitting well for me. I had seen the opportunity of an apprenticeship with CGI, and the idea of earning while I learned, as well as getting workplace experience while studying, really appealed.

“Being at university one day a week and at work the other four, I was able to see how my education fitted into work.”

Chloe also works as an ambassador for CGI to help bring more young women into the apprenticeship scheme. She said: “I go out to schools and talk to girls who are interested in tech but are unsure of the correct path to take. I think this sort of thing is vital in getting more women into tech, and was definitely missing when I was at school so I am really pleased to be making a difference.”

Kirsty Ramsay, Vice President Consulting Delivery at CGI, said encouraging more young people, and specifically young women, into tech is a key mission for the company.

She said: “We have several other projects in the pipeline in Scotland – and we are also looking wider into Northern Ireland – which aim to encourage more young people in the area to consider a career in technology.

“We would encourage any company to consider this avenue of recruitment.

Apprentices help drive us forward as a company by providing innovative ideas. They are the future of IT, and we want their future to be with us at CGI.”

“This is vital not just for CGI but also for Scotland. Many leaders in the private and public sector I’ve talked to have focused on the mass exodus at graduation time.

Graduates still go down south or abroad, so we need to create opportunities where people can start their careers here. With the workforce that we have, I want to make sure that their jobs are interesting and relevant.

One example of the success of this graduate apprenticeship scheme is Chloe Gallacher.

Chloe started her career by joining CGI as an apprentice software developer and studying at Glasgow Caledonian University.

After achieving her BSc Honours, she is now studying for an MSc in Cyber Security,

“So it’s vital that, while the pandemic has affected employment in certain areas for today’s youth, we continue to create plenty of opportunities in technology and IT right here in Scotland. We want to do all we can to help them experience the positive benefits of a career in tech.”

The traditional path of a university degree followed by a job wasn’t sitting well for me.

I had seen the opportunity of an apprenticeship with CGI, and the idea of earning while I learned, as well as getting workplace experience while studying, really appealed.

Chloe Gallacher

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CARERS SCOTLAND

Get your business ready for Carers Week Recognising working carers and the challenges they face is an increasingly vital issue for Employers in Scotland. In 2020 we saw a dramatic boost in the number of Scottish carers, with an increase of almost 400,000 to an estimated 1.1 million since the beginning of the pandemic.

This is particularly relevant to employers as 58% of these new carers juggle paid work with their caring responsibilities.

Caring can impact people across the working age spectrum, but it tends to hit a peak at an age when many employees have gained valuable skills and experience. When the stress and struggle of combining work with caring become too much, carers often feel forced to reduce their working hours or give up their jobs entirely – even if this means ending their career or losing their main source of income.

In addition to being good employment practice, supporting carers to remain productively in work delivers real benefits to employers and the economy as a whole.

Evidence has shown that supportive policies and working practices: attract and retain staff reduce absence

Carers Week 2021

reduce recruitment and training costs

Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness about caring, highlight the challenges that unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution that they make in our communities. This year Carers Week falls on 7th – 13th of June.

increase resilience and productivity improve service delivery improve people management and staff morale Having carers on your team is already more common than many employers realise and this issue will only grow as our population ages. Acting now is vital to protect your organisation both now and for the future.

There are a number of things employers can do help carers feel supported and remain in their jobs. This starts with understanding the issues that carers face and developing appropriate workplace policies and practices. Once these are established, good communication and manager training is essential in order for them to be of benefit.

Encouraging peer support can help tackle feelings of loneliness and isolation that often come with caring. Establishing staff networks can allow carers to get together for a chat or to exchange tips and share experiences. This may not be practical for all organisations, but employers can also signpost carers to local support groups or online forums.

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Carers Week is a valuable opportunity for employers to raise awareness and build extra support. Taking part will foster understanding among all members of staff, while helping working carers to feel recognised and valued within the organisation.

A few ways that employers can mark Carers Week include: Carers Network Coffee Morning Get carers together for coffee and a chat.

Feature a Case Study Would a member of staff be happy to share experiences of their caring role? This could be shared on your internal network.

Signpost to Help Highlight links and contact details for organisations which can provide carers with information, support and resources.

Link Up with a Carers Centre Find out about their services and join community based activities.

Invite a Speaker to your Event Sharing knowledge and experiences can

be a great way to build awareness of caring among all members of staff.

Please remember to plan events around local Covid-19 restrictions – online alternatives to in-person events are usually possible.

Becoming a Carer Positive Employer Another action you can take for Carers Week is considering becoming a Carer Positive employer. The Carer Positive awards are a Scottish Government funded programme which recognise employers that create a supportive working environment for carers.

The Carer Positive team work closely with employers across Scotland to help them develop support for carers while taking into consideration the circumstances specific to each organisation. Becoming recognised with a Carer Positive Award sends a strong supportive message to both existing and potential new staff, as well setting an excellent standard as an employer in Scotland. Our award scheme is recommended within the Scottish Business Pledge and linked in the Scottish Government’s recent ‘Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidance for Homeworking’.

Visit our website for advice and resources on supporting carers in the workplace, as well as more information on the Carer Positive awards – carerpositive.org

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Lochaber Chamber leads the way in local staff development One of the key issues that business faces is not just talent attraction but also retention.

Nurturing staff and helping them to develop professionally and personally within the company is a huge benefit to organisations and the communities they are part of.

When it comes to business success, we know it’s all about leadership. The ability to lead individuals and teams to success is arguably the most important skill a manager can possess. But when you live and work in a rural Highland location, what is the most effective way to develop your staff’s leadership potential and skills?

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This was a key issue that our business members were facing as they looked to nurture the talents and ambitions of their staff, and to ensure that their leaders of the future had the understanding and skills to lead individuals and teams to success.

In Lochaber, undertaking specialist management training would generally

involve a lot of extra time and expense on top of training costs – it would previously have meant days away from home, plus accommodation and travel expenses…not to mention the extra time lost to travelling.

After surveying members, Lochaber Chamber of Commerce took the bold step of launching its own tailored ‘One Lochaber

CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Clare Moore of Ethos Consulting. Along with additional training and 1-2-1 coaching, delegates work towards a CMI Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management over the course of a year.

We’ve been delighted by the response from local businesses. Equally applicable to all working environments, delegates joined the programme from backgrounds as diverse as aluminium smelting, wood processing, renewable energy, and outdoor adventure businesses.

Leadership Programme’ to help local companies develop their staff with highquality accredited management training right here in Lochaber.

This high-quality leadership programme is fully accredited through the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and delivered by experienced trainers Bruce Milroy and

Marina Marin, Supply Chain Controller at BSW Timber, is a recent graduate of the One Lochaber Leadership Programme. Originally from Spain, Marina has worked in BSW’s logistics team for four years. She jumped at the chance to develop her understanding of managing and leading teams, saying: “The One Lochaber Leadership Programme has been a great opportunity to learn in depth what leadership entails. The content was wide, structured, and applicable to all sorts of working environments. I would certainly recommend this program to others and I would encourage businesses to enrol

their employees as the benefits from it are countless.”

Buoyed by the success of the programme, Lochaber Chamber has also now launched the complementary One Lochaber Mentoring Programme to help share business skills and experience across generations and industries.

As Frazer Coupland, CEO of Lochaber Chamber of Commerce says, ‘We care passionately about the success of all our Lochaber businesses. From the One Lochaber Leadership Programme, ‘Developing the Young Workforce West Highland’ programme, our training seminars and short courses, through to our new One Lochaber Mentoring Programme, we are constantly thinking of ways to help our members enhance the skills of their workforce.

We’re also excited about the future as we’re about to add a new ‘Head of Skills for Work’ to our Chamber team. They’ll look after all aspects of training and work closely with business to help make sure we’re doing everything we can to help them succeed.”

The One Lochaber Leadership Programme has been a great opportunity to learn in depth what leadership entails. The content was wide, structured, and applicable to all sorts of working environments.

Marina Marin, Supply Chain Controller at BSW Timber

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Skills on the menu in Dunbartonshire SCC President, Tim Allan, brought the recent West Dunbartonshire Careers Fortnight (#WDInspire2021) to a close.

Mr Allan welcomed more than 40 guests to Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce’s Building Bridges Business Breakfast on the final day of the programme - which was put together by partnership working between West Dunbartonshire Council, DYW West, Skills Development Scotland and Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce.

The two weeks of activity featured a range of daily virtual events and resources including live virtual workshops, industry insight videos and recordings, Q&A sessions covering a variety of sectors and support for CV writing and interview techniques.

The support of local businesses to connect private enterprise with schools has been at the heart of the activity with “Skills Champions” contributing to the success of the fortnight to provide careers inspiration for young people in West Dunbartonshire.

Aggreko, Babcock, BAM, MoD, Glenhead Engineering and European Circuits were just some of the businesses that got involved to support the programme.

Damon Scott, Chief Executive, Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Careers Fortnight is an excellent example of collaborative working and agility to respond to the challenges the pandemic has thrown up. It is important to recognise the commitment and enthusiasm of all the partners and businesses involved to make this happen under challenging circumstances.”

Tim Allan

SCC President

“We were delighted that so many businesses could join us at our Business Breakfast.

Along with the other partners we hope we can continue to build the participation and reach within our wonderful business community to develop the skills of our young

The commitment and energy in the Scottish Business Community is fantastic. There was so much positivity during the session and I was so impressed by the enthusiasm in the midst of a global crisis.

Tim Allan, SCC President

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workforce to meet the needs of the local and Scottish economies.”

Sharon Colvan, Operations Manager at Glenhead Engineering, DCC Board member and Building Bridges “Champion”, added: “The Business Breakfast was an excellent event with lots of representation across a range of sectors! It was really good to see so many companies keen to help young people achieve a positive destination. I was also delighted to represent the Engineering sector for the focus on STEM and share some of my knowledge and experience to help some of the young people with their career choices.”

Mr Allan was evangelical in his praise for the event: “The commitment and energy in the Scottish Business Community is fantastic.

There was so much positivity during the session and I was so impressed by the enthusiasm in the midst of a global crisis.”

CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Radio partnership supports skills Dunbartonshire Chamber recently agreed an exciting new partnership with Dunbartonshire-based River Radio that will see the radio station promote the activities of The Chamber. The station played an important part in the skills fortnight with daily interviews taking place with Chamber Members to provide industry insights and career pathways.

Ambitious plans for building bridges programme Dunbartonshire Chamber is keen to build on the event and partnerships in 2021 by continuing to create online resource with new interviews and videos, recruiting more Skills Champions to support schools and young people and attracting sponsorship to support the Chamber’s Building Bridges Skills Development Programme that all skill-based activity falls under.

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CHAMBER NETWORK SUCCESSES

Local business success celebrated at Northern Star Business Awards North-East firms from Banff to Banchory are celebrating today after being named winners of the region’s longeststanding business awards.

Organised by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce and now in their 17th year, the Northern Star Business Awards recognise companies in the region for their exceptional accomplishments across a range of fields from energy and innovation to people development, customer service and environmental action.

The Awards, held in association with principal sponsor Nucore Group, were due to take place in person at P&J Live but the winners were announced virtually instead due to CV19 restrictions.

Motive Offshore Group Ltd has followed up its win in the ‘Going Global’ category of the last Northern Star Business Awards by being named ‘Business of the Year’ in 2021.

Since it was established in 2010 by James Gregg and Dave Acton, the Banffheadquartered company has developed from a winch manufacturer into a leading global solutions provider for the back-deck and

beyond. It specialises in the manufacture, rental and servicing of high-capacity winches, umbilical testing and deployment equipment and associated services to the onshore and offshore energy and marine industries. It now has seven divisions, bases in Kintore, Port of Blyth, United Arab Emirates, the USA and Norway; and following multi-million-pound investment in 2019 has executed an ambitious growth strategy, through tactical diversification and internationalisation, designed to create a £20m EBITDA business by 2025.

Other winners include Grampian Training Services Ltd which has given more than 100,000 primary school children across the region first aid training; Aberdeen Football Club and the BIG Partnership for the #StillStandingFree campaign; and Oldmeldrum-based James Fisher Offshore which has significantly expanded its team, facilities and capabilities to grow its international operations.

Chief executive of the Chamber Russell Borthwick said: “Through these most challenging of times, there are still good news stories out there. Businesses innovating, adapting and doing incredible things among the economic mayhem.

This year’s awards had a record number of entries and while things didn’t turn out quite as we planned but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate business success in North-east Scotland.

We are delighted to continue to show our support for these prestigious awards. Our business is centred around our core values and we believe our people are key to our current and future success - but the same is true outside of business too.

Mark Fraser, chief executive officer of Nucore Group

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CHAMBER NETWORK SUCCESSES

“We congratulate the winners and finalists who have once again raised the bar across a whole range of sectors and encourage organisations to draw inspiration from these businesses in order to redouble our efforts to create the economic conditions that will ensure the longterm success of the North-east.”

Mark Fraser, chief executive officer of Nucore Group, said: “We are delighted to continue to show our support for these prestigious awards. Our business is centred around our core values and we believe our people are key to our current and future success - but the same is true outside of business too.

“Local people are key to driving success across the region and we understand the importance of celebrating this, especially during these challenging times. Although the awards are not possible in person this year, we are delighted to still play our part in celebrating with the muchdeserved finalists and winners of the Northern Star Business Awards.”

The winners in the 12 categories were as follows: Inspiring Futures Grampian Training Services Ltd Student Placement BW Offshore Rising Star George Strachan, TaxAssist Accountants Marketing Magic BIG Partnership and Aberdeen Football Club Inspiration from Innovation Ecosse IP Customer First Nimbus Blue

Driving Sustainability Keenan Recycling Ltd Making the Difference North East Sensory Services (NESS) Family Business Greenwell Equipment Staff Matter TaxAssist Accountants Going Global James Fisher Offshore Business of the Year Motive Offshore Group Ltd

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Connecting with Mongolia For the better part of 2020 we had been planning our first Virtual Trade Mission to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in association with the Honorary Consul of Mongolia for Scotland and from 19th to 21st January 2021, we brought along 18 Scottish Businesses and connected over 100 delegates showcasing a diversity of potential and productive trading relationships from Scotland & Mongolia.

Mongolia is landlocked between China and Russia and they actively pursue a ‘Third Neighbour Policy’ and are keen to trade with other International partners, Scotland included which has shown throughout this week’s activities.

We kicked off the trade mission events, with a welcome from Billy MacLeod, President of West Lothian Chamber of Commerce alongside Stuart Hamilton who leads international activities at Scottish Chambers of Commerce. It was noted how important it was to keep trading internationally throughout this pandemic and going forward trade missions like this are vital as it is a great way to venture into a new market without financial commitment.

Working with David Scott, Honorary Consul for Mongolia for Scotland, we were able to welcome a number of Mongolian Officials to present their thoughts to our delegates, they included: Ambassador Tulga Mongolian Ambassador to the UK Ms. Oyu Vasha Director-General of Economic Cooperation and Foreign Trade Department Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Malone, FCDO HM Ambassador to Mongolia Following this, day one concluded with a Market Awareness Session, informing our delegates about trading conditions

in Mongolia. We were delighted to have a diverse panel representing Mongolia, including: Onon Sukhbaatar, Senior Market Policy Officer British Embassy, Ulaanbaatar.

Marc Hawkins, Executive Director Sonoforte Group, Ulaanbaatar Anudari Batsukh, Manager Human Resources Larudi Consulting, Ulaanbaatar.

John Grogan, Chair Mongolian British Chamber of Commerce.

The start of day two saw us getting down to business with sector specific meetings with Mongolian businesses, tailored according to industry and business objectives, these included Alcohol, Agriculture, Cashmere, Energy, Health

& Safety and Education. These meetings proved very beneficial to all the delegates with good interaction and interest in taking the next step towards trading links.

The Trade Mission concluded with delegates joining the Mongolian British Chamber of Commerce “Doing Business in Mongolia” conference and the commitment to a physical visit to Ulaanbaatar in September, travel restrictions permitting. Meanwhile the Chamber have helped to facilitate follow up conversations to support our Scottish Delegates to nurture the business relationships they have started to develop.

The Chamber and its partners have been delighted with the results of the trade mission which has shown the eagerness of businesses from both countries to increase the markets connectivity.

It was noted how important it was to keep trading internationally throughout this pandemic and going forward trade missions like this are vital as it is a great way to venture into a new market without financial commitment.

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BUSINESS PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

Another opportunity to virtually connect Scotland with the world Scotland’s vibrant tourism and events industry has shown resilience and adaptability in abundance in the past year – but there’s a need for robust support for some time to come if our industry is to recover.

By Malcolm Roughead OBE Chief Executive, VisitScotland

At VisitScotland, one strand of our ongoing support for the tourism industry is helping Scottish businesses retain and build connections with the international travel trade.

Activity includes providing platforms for businesses to meet digitally with the likes of destination management companies, tour operators, travel agents and other buyers based in the UK and overseas. Maintaining relationships is hugely important to generate potential business leads - and keep Scotland front of mind for when travel is possible.

Pre-pandemic, we ran our annual flagship travel trade event VisitScotland Expo and delivered regular overseas Business Development Missions, which have long been integral to building relationships and developing Scotland’s tourism appeal across international markets.

With in-person event restrictions, such events are not possible – at least for

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now. But, like many organisations, it has been important to adapt our approach.

We have used technology to offer a place where Scottish businesses can connect digitally with influential buyers, to plan and secure future business and form relationships.

Last November we delivered our first digital Scotland Reconnect event. This pilot event saw 264 buyers from 23 countries connecting online with 240 Scottish suppliers for business meetings aimed at booking and creating tour packages for future visitors.

Each April, we usually host VisitScotland Expo, which gives international buyers an opportunity to experience what Scotland has to offer at first hand and meet with suppliers. In 2019, our last live VisitScotland Expo, we hosted the largest event in our history. It facilitated a record 10,000 appointments between exhibitors and buyers and we worked with airline partners to provide flights for international buyers from key markets.

Unfortunately, current restrictions don’t allow us to host a physical VisitScotland Expo in 2021 – as we had perhaps hoped for upon cancellation of our 2020 event, due to take place at The Event Complex Aberdeen.

We know that physical events will return one day when it’s safe, so for the time-being we’ve decided to continue with a fully online events programme.

In place of Expo this year, we will host Scotland Reconnect 2021 from 27-29 April at which around 7,500 business meetings are anticipated to take place. The event has two key purposes - keeping Scotland at the forefront of people’s minds when international travel is permitted and offering businesses an opportunity to generate future bookings and create new revenue streams.

We hope the event encourages Scotland’s tourism industry that online engagement can deliver business, as from our research we can see demand for our product has not diminished. We know the recovery of tourism won’t happen quickly, and ongoing support is vital to protect our industry, but that the appetite for travel to Scotland is still there in abundance.

For more information visit www.visitscotland.org/events/industryevents/travel-trade

A PROMISE BY THE NATION. The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation, ensuring that those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated fairly.

So why not publicly declare your commitment to our Armed Forces by signing up? In doing so you would be among the 6,000+ UK organisations to have already shown their support.

Organisations have also been continuing to demonstrate support for the Armed Forces during the COVID-19 crisis.

However, with face-to-face Covenant signings not being possible, these have instead been taking place online.

Companies to have shown their ‘virtual’ commitment include Highland Perthshire-based outdoor adventure experience firm Nae Limits and Isle of Harris Distillers Ltd. Signing up to the Covenant is straightforward and sets companies on the path to have their pledge recognised through the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

This scheme incorporates prestigious Bronze, Silver and Gold awards, granted in recognition of their pledge to support defence and the Armed Forces Community.

2020 Gold winners in the HRFCA-area were: Aberdeen City Council, Angus Council, High Life Highland, and Scottish Water.

2020 Silver winners in the HRFCA-area were: BASICS

Ray Watt

Scotland, Falkirk Council, Fife Medical Group, Horizon Security Solutions, Louise Worrall Wealth Management, Meldrum Joinery & Building Services, Moray Digital, NHS Highland, and Securitay Limited.

The 2021 winners will be announced later this year.

Events are also being planned to celebrate their successes.

To find out how you can support the Armed Forces, contact Highland Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association’s Regional Employer Engagement Directors.

Contact Roy McLellan by email: hi-reed@rfca.mod.uk.

Contact Ray Watt by email: hi-reed2@rfca.mod.uk.

Ray joined the Highland RFCA team in late 2020, bringing 35 years of service both as a Regular and Reservist in the Army. That experience means he is ideally placed to understand the positive benefits employing Reservists has on companies and organisations large and small. Find out more about Ray below.

Ray Watt is the new Regional Employer Engagement Director within Highland RFCA. His background is mainly in the Army, having served a total of 35 years. He joined in November 1985 as a Junior Leader Royal Corps of Transport and served in BAOR, Berlin, the Gulf, and Bosnia during a 24 year Regular career.

He left Regular service in July 2009 and transferred into the Army Reserve within what was the Scottish Transport Regiment as a Commissioned Officer – initially as an Ops Captain, then latterly as Officer

Commanding 251 (Ayrshire) Transport Squadron. Recently Ray was deployed as the Assistant Military Liaison Officer to Forth Valley as part of Op RESCRIPT. He now continues to serve within 154 (Scottish) Transport Regiment as the newly-appointed Regimental 2nd in Command.

Ray’s military service, coupled with his knowledge of the transition to civilian life and his personal experience of mobilisation as a Reservist, means he brings broad knowledge and experience to the Highland RFCA team.

Proudly supporting those who serve.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Attracting new investment and creating new jobs PD Ports is one of the UK’s major port groups. Its main operators of Teesport, the fifth largest port in the UK and the only major port in England to handle more exports than imports, supports 22,000 jobs and contributes £1.4 billion to the UK economy every year.

At the heart of all the fantastic news happening across the Tees Valley in recent months, PD Ports, in its role as Statutory Harbour Authority, is committed to ensuring the River Tees plays its full part in supporting the future growth of the region and the UK as a whole.

PD Ports was delighted to welcome both the Prime Minster, Boris Johnson, and the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to Teesport in early March in their only post-budget event following the announcement of Freeport status for Teesside just one day earlier.

As the Statutory Harbour Authority, PD Ports worked tirelessly to support the region’s Freeport bid, consulting with over 100 businesses and organisations to develop plans that will maximise the benefits a Freeport will bring. During the Prime Minister and Chancellor’s visit, PD Ports CEO, Frans Calje, thanked the Government for delivering an opportunity that could create up to 32,000 new jobs and add a further £2 billion to the region’s economy.

The Freeport development builds on PD Port’s track record of attracting over £1 billion of new investment to Teesside in the last 10 years and forms part of a new vision to make the River Tees the UK’s most successful port region by 2050. It also compliments a number of other exciting developments that will see PD Ports help to deliver a further £1 billion of investment within the next five years alone.

Presenting the port operators transformative vision to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, PD Ports’ Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman, highlighted the £185 million Northern Gateway Container Terminal development that will triple Teesport’s container handling capacity to meet rising demand for customers eager to reduce their reliance on congested ports in the south.

Frans said: “It was a privilege to welcome the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to Teesport and we are immensely grateful for the opportunity the Government has given us in awarding Freeport status. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the Government to deliver the prosperity Teesside deserves.

As well as offering more resilient and reliable links to international markets, the new terminal will also help reduce the distance that cargo travels on UK roads, delivering a significant reduction in CO2 emissions as PD Ports strives to play its part in achieving the Governments net zero target by 2050.

“Freeport status will enable PD Ports to build on our successful track record of

Long advocates for sustainability, PD Ports operate more direct daily rail connections

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attracting new investment and creating new jobs across the region, with more people now employed by PD Ports than before the Closure of the SSI Steel plant in 2015.”

to Scotland, out of Teesport, than any other port in the North of England, meaning the Port is already in a prime position to handle Northern-bound cargo efficiently and sustainably, having done so effectively since the implementation of its first Scottish service in 2015.

The well-established daily routes from Teesport to Mossend and Grangemouth have remained operational despite the challenges of the previous year, with PD Ports continuing to work closely with valued partners to find flexible solutions to suit peaks and troughs in demand throughout the multiple stages of the pandemic.

Also home to the most ambitious apprenticeship programme in the UK ports industry with 152 current and former apprentices working across the business, PD Ports introduced the Prime Minister and Chancellor to some of its Engineering apprentices on their recent trip to Teesport.

Currently celebrating its 20th year of supporting young people, PD Ports plans to recruit a further 30 apprentices in the coming months as it intensifies its efforts to help those most affected by the COVID19 crisis, demonstrated by the launch of Project Hope, PD Ports’ new initiative to further increase the support available for young people from the business community. www.pdports.co.uk

CONNECTING SCOTLAND TO THE WORLD VIA TEESPORT FREQUENCY AND RELIABILITY POSITION TEESPORT AS A GLOBAL GATEWAY TO SCOTLAND Teesport offers more direct daily rail connections to and from Scotland than any other port in the north of England, running daily services to Grangemouth and Mossend.

With over 25 vessel calls per week, Teesport allows shippers to move cargo with ease, complemented by intermodal rail connections.

For more information and to start realising the benefits of rail freight, please contact our commercial team.

T: +44 (0) 1642 877000 E: enquiries@pdports.co.uk W: www.pdports.co.uk

CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Borders college launches strategy to bring in sustainable behavioural change in quest to reach net-zero Partners and politicians joined the team from Borders College recently as the region’s tertiary education institute launched their ambitious Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025, placing the College at the forefront of delivering the Scottish Government’s net-zero by 2045 target within the educational sector in Scotland.

With an ambition to fundamentally change the culture of the organisation, the Strategy will see sustainability at the core of everything the College does in providing staff, students and the community they work with, the knowledge and skills to make a positive contribution to becoming Net-Zero.

Underpinning the strategy are four objectives that set the intention of the College to: Develop awareness of, and implement good sustainable sector practice in all our learning programmes; Influence positive sustainable behaviours across the wider community; Adopt best ethical, sustainable, and social practices in our operations and supply chain; Promote sustainable innovation and the adoption of technological breakthroughs with our employers and stakeholders.

In her opening address at the launch, College Principal, Angela Cox, said: “To achieve our strategy, Sustainability at Borders College will be at the core of who we are and what we do. It will shape and drive everything that happens here. We are ambitious to be national leaders and role models in the education and adoption of sustainable practice.”

Speaking at the launch event, Mr. Richard Lochhead, MSP, Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, said: “Our journey to net zero will require all parts of Scottish society to embrace the transformation required to meet our ambitious targets, and this strategy highlights the key role colleges can play in leading the changes needed in order for us to meet these targets.”

Reflecting the necessity for an approach to sustainability to be broad, the launch event included keynote presentations on the opportunity for the green economy in the south of Scotland, conservation and biodiversity, skills development, and behaviour change through operations. Ms. Cox said: “We have developed our strategy from strong foundations. It is through our agile and innovative practice that has led us to have a 34% reduction in our carbon footprint over the last 4 years, but we know we will achieve a greater impact if we work in partnership, across multiple aspects of sustainability.”

As a clear indication of the approach, key partners were invited to the launch as guest speakers. Scottish Council for Development

To achieve our strategy, Sustainability at Borders College will be at the core of who we are and what we do. It will shape and drive everything that happens here.

Angela Cox, College Principal

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and Industry chief executive officer, Ms. Sara Thiam, delivered the keynote address, detailing her organisation’s Green Manifesto and how the collaboration with the educational sector is crucial in delivering net-zero. The importance of educating future generations to intuitively think and act sustainably is highlighted as part of the College’s Strategy through the key themes of behavioural change, global citizenship, and circular economy.

The launch event was closed by the interim Chair of the Borders College Board of Management, Elaine Acaster, commenting that: “All contributors have given stimulating and supportive contributions on Borders College Sustainability Strategy and commitment to a topic of global significance.

We have been enthused by their inspiring approaches to sustainability in its widest sense and look forward to continuing collaboration. I thank them all.”

The delivery of the Sustainability Strategy will be supported by a host of operational plans, over the next five years.

A full copy of the Borders College Sustainability Strategy can be accessed at: www.borderscollege.ac.uk/sustainability

BUSINESS PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

CalMac’s commitment to communities is rewarded The UK’s largest ferry operator CalMac has earned a top award for its commitment to generating social value for its local communities.

CalMac has become the first Scottish company to be awarded a Level 2 Social Value Quality Mark for initiatives such as the CalMac Community Fund.

Recent research has forecasted that for every pound spent by CalMac, communities across the network benefit from a social return of £5.14. Last year, the CalMac Community Fund supported 76 different projects that benefitted the lives of children and young people living in west coast communities. It is expected to deliver £676,391 of value over three years.

To gain the Quality Mark, projects supported by the Community Fund demonstrated tangible outcomes including health and wellbeing; social and community; education and skills and employment and volunteering.

Projects included: the Western Isles Foyer who engaged with and delivered positive outcomes for 57 vulnerable young people; Barra Children’s Centre developed and promoted awareness of water safety and increased participation in water sports

for 45 young people; Staffin Youth Club created a safe and fun environment for 35 young people living in the Trotterish peninsula to meet on Friday evenings; North Argyll Carers Centre developed communication and social skills of 5 young carers through their ‘We Care’ photography project; Islay Archers now have greater capacity to engage an increased number of young people ensuring the on-going sustainability of the sport on Islay; and Achievement Bute developed a highly valued youth club for 31 young people living on the island and created opportunities for young people with disabilities who in many cases did not have such a peer group previously CalMac’s community programmes were recently praised in a motion lodged in the Scottish Parliament by Donald Cameron, MSP for the Highlands and Islands, and which received cross-party support.

Gordon McKillop, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for CalMac, said: “Our Community Fund is much more than

corporate giving. The Community Fund was created to make a difference and we are beginning to see those results. We hope to build on the funds early success and sustain its impact for years to come by tackling the material issues affecting our communities.”

This year we will support projects tackling mental health, loneliness, social isolation and or poverty and will announce the successful projects in the coming weeks.

Richard Dickins, MD of Social Value Quality Mark, said: “Today’s consumers increasingly make their decisions based on how companies treat their staff, the environment and the society in which they operate. Through the Quality Mark we cultivate and recognise the highest known standards in values-led business.

“This award recognises CalMac’s outstanding commitment to create, report and embed social value within the fabric of their organisation. We are delighted to remain their social value partner as they move through up through the levels.”

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

ICC Hosts Business and Skills Minister for Virtual Roundtable Event Jamie Hepburn MSP, Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills, was Inverclyde Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) guest speaker at its recent virtual roundtable event on Tuesday 12th January 2021.

The intimate online event was an opportunity for local businesses to hear an update from the Minister but more importantly to share their own first-hand experiences and thoughts on moving forward to ensure the sustainable recovery of the economy.

In his opening remarks, Mr Hepburn addressed the difficulties faced by businesses in Inverclyde, given its status as one of the worst affected areas during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the steps already taken by Scottish Government to support businesses throughout the crisis.

The Minister continued to give an overview of the challenges faced by the Scottish Government in restarting the economy, and the importance of the funding announcements reaching businesses quickly.

Reflecting on the various issues raised

by Inverclyde Businesses, Mr Hepburn said: “I welcomed this opportunity to speak to Inverclyde businesses to explore how the Scottish Government can work collaboratively with them towards a sustainable economic recovery.

“I also received valuable insights into how the Covid-19 crisis has impacted on businesses in the area and got feedback on the support measures introduced in response.

“I would like to thank George McKay and his members for taking part.”

George McKay, CEO of ICC, chaired the discussion between Mr Hepburn and several Inverclyde-based businesses who raised concerns regarding the Clyde Mission Fund, flooding on the A8, regeneration within Inverclyde, investment in the local area, mental health in the workplace, home working and schooling and youth employment.

George said: “It was fantastic to welcome the Minister to ICC’s virtual roundtable and we appreciate both his time and

enthusiasm in listening to feedback from Inverclyde businesses.

“The attendees made clear the current challenges that both businesses and the general public locally face in Inverclyde and this was a good opportunity to share these.

“Inverclyde Chamber continues to provide opportunities for businesses to have their voice heard at a national level and will continue to champion and advocate for our membership and the local business community.”

Inverclyde Chamber continues to provide opportunities for businesses to have their voice heard at a national level and will continue to champion and advocate for our membership and the local business community.

George McKay, CEO of ICC

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

New Services at Ayrshire Chamber AyrshireConnect was launched at the end of March.

A new website to connect the three local authorities of Ayrshire and all the towns within them in one place.

Whatever you are looking for, wherever you are looking for it, you should be able to find it on www.ayrshireconnect.co.uk Each town has its own landing/community page which will be updated with local events such as Summer Fetes, Christmas lights, community events etc. Businesses are listed by categories such as food & drink, hospitality, retail and so on, allowing them to be found in several ways. A listing on the site is free to any Ayrshire business, not just Chamber members. To get involved or for more information contact Joan via email at jmcmurdo@ayrshire-chamber.org

Mentoring Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce are delighted to launch a new and enhanced business mentoring programme to support

local business owners and leaders. This programme will match ambitious local businesses and their leaders with expert volunteer business mentors to support their personal growth and development aspirations.

Over the years Ayrshire chamber has matched many local businesses with an experienced mentor and the journey has proved to be a very positive one.

Using a new online software platform, we will identify your development aims, objectives and ambitions. With a large and diverse pool of mentors across all sectors, your business is matched with a mentor that has the right skills and experience to add value to the business. Contact Lisa via email for more information at mentoring@ ayrshire-chamber.org

Customs Service The effects of Brexit are continuing to be felt by many businesses, especially getting to grips with the customs paperwork which may now be required. That is why the Ayrshire Chamber international trade team have completed their training for the ChamberCustoms service.

Under the Government staged approach to postponing VAT on imports between 1st January and 30th June, VAT registered traders may be receiving standard (noncontrolled) goods from the EU post Brexit without completing any paperwork. From July, HMRC will be checking retrospectively to ensure imports have the correct paperwork, particularly in relation to deferred VAT payments and you may need to complete an import declaration. If you think this may apply to your business, why not see if we can help by contacting us at chambercustoms@ayrshire-chamber.org To help with the complexities of Brexit customs requirements, Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce have also teamed up with Exporter Services to deliver training in international trading practices. These courses will be delivered remotely and include areas such as A Beginners Practical Guide to Exporting, Understanding Export and Export Documentation, Import Procedures and Incoterms 2020 amongst others. Full details can be found on the Ayrshire Chamber website www.ayrshire-chamber.org/international

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CHAMBER NETWORK SUCCESS

Bakery observes increase in orders from those aged 55+ as grandparents order gifts for grandchildren As lockdowns across the UK have changed shopping habits, propelling consumers towards e-commerce for gifts, clothes, and other treats, Bradfords Bakers has observed a dramatic increase in older people using their services to deliver gifts to family members like their grandchildren. also allows customers to arrange gifts to go to a specific address up to three months in advance.

Bradfords Bakers is a small, family-owned bakery based near Glasgow that has been delivering gifts all over the UK since 2006.

The bakery previously serviced its customers to bricks-and-mortar stores in and around Glasgow, its flagship location being their Sauchiehall Street shop, but switched to online trading only in 2013.

The bakery prides itself on being able to offer its customers next day delivery, but for those who like to be prepared, the option is there to select a date well in advance to secure the availability of a certain product on a certain day. This is helpful not only for birthdays, but for seasonal holidays that most people will buy gifts for, like Mother’s Day or Christmas.

The bakery is nearing 100 years of trading, and is well known for its hampers, cupcakes, and doughnuts selection.

Staff have noticed an increased number of gift cards being signed to and from grandparents, and this observation is backed up by recorded uplifts in conversion in website users aged 55-64 (180%) and 65+ (20%).

Managing Director of Bradfords Bakers James McGoldrick believes that the pandemic has spurred on older people to use e-commerce far more than they would have previously, and now that those who would be unlikely to shop online before are more familiar with the concept, he believes that this trend won’t fall away when high streets and non-essential shops reopen.

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James believes that, as a gift company, Bradfords Bakers has provided a muchneeded service over lockdowns that has allowed loved ones who cannot be together in one space to still feel the presence of each other. The pandemic brought on so much emotional distress for so many people, so James is happy to know that his business can bring people cheer still.

Additionally, James hopes that anyone who would previously have preferred not to shop online can now see how simple the experience can be. The Bradfords Bakers website has been made to be accessible and follows Nielsen’s usability studies. It

For an added personal touch, Bradfords Bakers offers customers the ability to customise their cupcakes with edible messages or pictures. So those buying gifts can find a picture that reminds them and a gift recipient of a happy memory and put it on a cupcake, or they can simply write a heartfelt message to show how they feel.

As a small business owner, James has been thrilled with the amount of support both old and new customers have given his business in the past year – it has helped Bradfords Bakers not only survive the pandemic, but also thrive.

CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

The Cottage Café Bistro launches new website Inverclyde Chamber of Commerce member, The Cottage Café Bistro has launched its new website to support its ongoing growth and development.

Sister owners, Janine Brennan and Yvonne Malloy took over the business two years ago which is based at Ladyburn Business Park at Pottery Street in Greenock.

The business has since enjoyed a successful transition online as a result of Covid-19, with The Cottage utilising Just Eat and other platforms to ensure it continues to grow its trade.

With the current public health restrictions forcing the restaurant to close, the bistro

is currently operating as a takeaway and delivery service, offering a range of food from breakfasts and main meals to sandwiches, baked potatoes and afternoon teas.

“Naturally, the pandemic forced us to embrace new ways of generating income for the bistro and we’ve been delighted by the popularity of our online ordering and delivery services.”

The new website now enables the business to take online orders, giving the platform an increased functionality to accept orders direct to cut on referral fees to third parties.

The Cottage was able to call on local expertise for the new site, with fellow Chamber members Tweetiepie Media in Greenock responsible for building the site and Gourock photographer Murray McMillan providing imagery. App developers Bonapp&eat provided the ordering platform.

Reflecting on the new launch, Yvonne said: “It is fantastic to be able to launch and share our new website with our customers and fellow Chamber members.

“We have spent considerable time designing the site to ensure it represents our brand as well as how the website flows, which has led to a further increase in customers ordering direct.

We have spent considerable time designing the site to ensure it represents our brand as well as how the website flows, which has led to a further increase in customers ordering direct.

Co-owner Janine added: “All of the people that have supported the new website have been fantastic and we’d like to thank them for their expertise and professionalism – we are delighted by the result and investment.

“We are firm supporters of supporting fellow local businesses and we invite all Inverclyde residents to try The Cottage Café Bistro in the future.”

To view the new website and menu, please visit https://thecottagegreenock.co.uk Businesses interested in joining Inverclyde Chamber and its growing membership can visit www.inverclydechamber.co.uk/ membership

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CHAMBER NETWORK SUCCESS

Scottish tech firm exizent ranked number 3 in techround’s prestigious fintech50 Exizent has been ranked number three in the top 50 Fintech businesses and start-ups in the UK. TechRound’s Fintech50 ranks fintech businesses and start-ups in the UK for their innovation and contribution to the UK's fast-growing start-up scene, highlighting the diversity and success in the sector.

Glasgow based Exizent - the first ever platform that connects data, services and the network of people involved when someone passes away - is the top-rated Scottish business in the Fintech50 and the only one in the top 10.

The announcement follows a week of judging from an expert panel including Sharon Miles and Simon Rabin of Chip, Jelle Pol of Dusk Network and Paula Grynczel of Capital on Tap. Other finalists in the Fintech50 include pension platform PensionBee, banking service provider, BankingCircle, crypto portal Bitstamp, company smart cards Pleo and Soldo.

The judges commended the innovation and hard work of all the entries and the entrepreneurs, especially in their efforts to solve real-life problems through Fintech.

TechRound co-founder Daniel Tannenbaum said: “Once again, we were extremely impressed with the calibre of entries, with some of the most outstanding Fintech companies across payments, budgeting, finance and cryptocurrencies sharing their stories.”

Nick Cousins, CEO and co-founder of Exizent said: “We are so pleased that our platform has been recognised by the prestigious Fintech50; it is testament to the exceptional team of people we have

We are so pleased that our platform has been recognised by the prestigious Fintech50; it is testament to the exceptional team of people we have here at Exizent.

Nick Cousins, CEO and co-founder of Exizent

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here at Exizent. To be ranked number 3 in the UK - alongside big names like PensionBee and Pleo - is a real honour, and strengthens our belief in tech for good and in the platform becoming a fundamental part of the bereavement ecosystem.”

TechRound co-founder David Soffer commented: “The UK continues to be the powerhouse for all things start-ups and Fintech. The TechRound Fintech50 highlights the brilliant concepts and how they have been executed by some very talented people. Above all, this list should act as an inspiration to future Fintech leaders and entrepreneurs and help us create a society where the benefits of Fintech are fully utilised.”

CHAMBER NETWORK SUCCESS

Scottish female entrepreneurs recognised for success Local entrepreneurs recognised for making a powerful contribution to society, the economy and communities Two Entrepreneurs from Glasgow and Edinburgh have been named as two of the UK’s most 100 inspirational female entrepreneurs by Small Business Britain’s f:Entrepreneur ‘#ialso100’ campaign.

Carol Jackson who founded Glasgow’s ‘Ellis Gin’ and Leanne Farmer who founded ‘A wee pedal’ cycle tours in Edinburgh are being showcased alongside 100 female entrepreneurs from across the UK, as part of the campaign’s recognition of the multiachievements of women that have proved critical to society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now in its fourth year, f:Entrepreneur was launched in 2017 to highlight amazing female role models to help and inspire all small businesses, through content, stories and events. It particularly aims to showcase trailblazing female entrepreneurs that lead small businesses alongside a roster of other responsibilities, such as volunteering, mentoring and community support, activities Indeed, both entrepreneurs were called out for their support and volunteering in the local community.

Carol was called out not only for her drive, determination and dedication during the 2020 pandemic – but also for her support and volunteering in the local community - raising much needed cash for local charities by running virtual gin events and contributing

10% of money raised during a crowdfunder campaign to the NHS Togethers charity.

Leanne loaned out her fleet of bikes to keyworkers and servicing bikes as well as offering free community rides throughout the year. A busy year for Leanne, she has won not only one, but 3 national awards for ‘Best start - up business’ for her resilience and adaptability during 2020.

From beekeepers to PPE, tech entrepreneurs to pole-dance-enthusiasts, this year’s campaign celebrates inspiring and resilient female entrepreneurs that have flourished despite Covid-19, with many still growing or starting new ventures.

On being listed in the #ialso100, Carol said: “I am absolutely ecstatic to have been included alongside all the other inspirational Small Business Leaders. 2020 was a struggle for all businesses however we are pleased that we stayed focusssed and came out of the pandemic thriving and are looking forward to the opportunities that 2021 will bring.

And being one of only two Scottish Business Owners recognized is amazing.

Leanne said: “I’m delighted to be chosen as part of the ‘100’ and honoured to be listed alongside the other women who have remained positive and determined throughout the pandemic. During 2020, like most other small businesses, I had to adapt and re-focus my business. I needed to feel

useful and purposeful during the pandemic so I started running women-only bike maintenance classes and confidence rides for women who re-discovered cycling as well as family friendly cycle tours for locals who had no bike or confidence on where to go. I really love what I do and get enormous joy out of all aspects A wee pedal now provides.”

Both f:Entrepreneur and Small Business Britain were founded by Michelle Ovens CBE, who is also the director of Small Business Saturday UK. “Congratulations to all the inspiring women chosen to join this year’s #ialso100,” said Michelle Ovens. “Despite the significant obstacles thrown at them in the last year, female entrepreneurship continues to grow and flourish. We need to continue, and increase, our support for these incredible women and celebrate their amazing strength and success in the face of huge challenges.”

“We have seen so many women embracing change, generating and exploring new ideas, rallying around their communities and supporting their peers. This resilience is hugely valuable and will set them up for success as they will be at the very heart of the UK’s recovery.”

To see the full list of the 100 amazing women featured in this year’s f:entrepreneur #ialso100 campaign visit https://fentrepreneur.com/fentrepreneur-100/

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

DCC agrees partnership with Dumbarton Football Club Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce is delighted to have agreed a strategic alliance with Dumbarton Football Club.

"We spoke about several different ways of supporting the community and local businesses in their emergence from the Covid-19 crisis and beyond.

The new partnership will see the two parties work together to help each other to flourish and work towards achieving their ambitions.

"It became clear during discussions that the club and the Chamber had a sharing of views as to our responsibilities and roles within the wider community.

"The club will host a free-to-attend event at the stadium at the end of lockdown.

The objective will be to support a process of relationship building, networking opportunities and knowledge transfer events.

DFC general manager Antonia Love said: "Dumbarton FC are hugely grateful for the support and sponsorship we receive from local businesses which also employ many of our supporters.

"We agreed that we should forge a partnership, with Dumbarton FC aligning ourselves with and supporting their 'Together for Business' Covid-19 business resilience strategy.

"We believe that such networking events, in partnership with the Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce, will help to support businesses to emerge from this difficult period with an opportunity to lay the

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"The club wants to offer some form of assistance to those who are inevitably finding times very challenging in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact.

CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

foundations for future success, incorporating a legacy element leading to dissemination of knowledge and expertise to a greater number of businesses in the future."

Damon Scott, Chief Executive of Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the new partnership: “We are delighted to connect with Dumbarton

We are delighted to connect with Dumbarton Football Club to look at ways we can work together for our mutual benefit and that of the wider economy and community.

Damon Scott, Chief Executive of Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce

Football Club to look at ways we can work together for our mutual benefit and that of the wider economy and community.

"Initially, DFC will get behind the Loves Local Campaign the Chamber is leading on in our Dunbartonshire Towns and we have already partnered up to present a fantastic whiskytasting event along with Chivas.

“There are also plans to present a series of ongoing business networking events and we are discussing the possibility of leadership and motivating teams themes for some of the sessions."

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Restructure at Scottish software firm has clear focus on sustainable growth As a tech business, focusing all efforts towards delivering on only two key principles may seem a little basic, but the growth of an innovative Scottish software company has proven that if those two things are the right things – namely being technically excellent in your field and delivering outstanding customer service - it can be a recipe for success.

Having realised consistent double-digit growth in recent years, East Kilbride based Eureka Solutions has just announced a major restructure of the business with the purpose of further cementing these two founding principles and securing long-term, sustainable growth.

has grown from being a small business in 2004, supporting SMEs with their financial systems, to quickly becoming a leading software developer in its own right with products designed to enhance Sage systems, and being named ‘Sage Developer of the Year’ five times as a result.

A member of Glasgow and Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, Eureka Solutions

Always ahead of the curve, Eureka Solutions diversified further in 2012 to

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add the cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system Oracle NetSuite to the portfolio, building such an impressive portfolio of clients UK-wide, and with such a strong emphasis on long-term customer relationships, that they were awarded ‘Outstanding Partner of the Year’ for the UK and Ireland for 2020, and now begin 2021 as one of only three ‘Five-Star’ NetSuite partners in the UK.

CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Over time, Eureka Solutions has also become expert in streamlining processes for their customers, and has invested heavily in development of technology that connects disparate business systems, thus reducing duplication of effort and errors. This proprietary tool – Cloud Data Exchange – has the potential to propel the business to global player status, and its success to date was a major influence behind the restructure.

David Lindores – formerly Eureka Solutions’ Technical Director – has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, and Gillian Livingstone – formerly Financial Director – has been appointed Chief Operating Officer.

Between them they lead the talented team of close to 60 staff into a newly formed

divisional structure, designed to maximise opportunities for business growth and staff development.

thus creating an environment for personal, corporate and customer success for the entire staff.

As C.E.O., David Lindores now leads the strategic direction of the business, and has overall responsibility for the newly formed Oracle NetSuite division, ensuring Eureka Solutions continues to have the resources and skills to deliver technically excellent implementations for NetSuite customers, as well as outstanding support and customer service. As C.O.O., Gillian Livingstone now leads the operational side of the business, and has overall responsibility for the Sage, Cloud Data Exchange and Eureka Addons division, keeping the focus on efficient project delivery and long-term customer success.

C.O.O. Gillian comments, “Our people are our most valuable resource, and the rate of staff turnover at Eureka Solutions is impressively low because developing and motivating our workforce is always a priority.

Many members of our well-established team were originally recruited as graduates and the new divisional structure creates clear career progression opportunities as well as the chance to continue to strive to be technically excellent in their field of specialty, which can only benefit our customers as we support them through their own growth.”

This restructure marks a conscious shift in mentality for the company’s owners and leadership team, from being a small business to being a larger company, as C.E.O. David explains, “Taking a step back and looking at the way our business was organised in relation to the size and complexity we have reached was an insightful experience. The vast majority of our staff are technical – across technical sales, development, implementation and support – and we could see that continuing to have one large team delivering the different products and services we provide could potentially restrict not only the growth of the business but the personal growth of our talented staff.”

Now, with clearly defined divisions, teams will be laser focused on their product area,

Our people are our most valuable resource, and the rate of staff turnover at Eureka Solutions is impressively low because developing and motivating our workforce is always a priority.

The nature of the products and services Eureka Solutions provides has leant itself perfectly to the challenges businesses have faced during 2020 and into 2021 – cloudbased systems accessible from anywhere that give real-time financial visibility and the ability to adapt and make fast decisions, combined with the ability to connect key systems to streamline processes and take pressure away from often strained resources.

Existing customers are UK-wide and vary from start-ups looking to save time by integrating systems with Cloud Data Exchange to allow them to focus on their growth, through to complex, multinational businesses consolidating world-wide financial and other operations with NetSuite – with disruptors in the sports, wholesale distribution, tech, leisure, retail and life sciences industries as examples. Eureka Solutions’ customer centric approach combined with the range of options provided enables them to support customers to grow by providing the system options that are the most appropriate for them.

As such, Eureka Solutions and its new leadership team head towards the new financial year in an extremely confident position, well established as a key player in the UK’s business software ecosystem.

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CHAMBER NETWORK SUCCESS

Alpaca treks brought to Inverclyde, following Business Gateway support A firm which specialises in providing alpaca trekking adventures has expanded its digital capabilities and secured local council funding following Business Gateway support after the business launched at the end of 2020.

Situated in the beautiful Ardgowan Estate in Greenock, West Coast Alpacas offers an outdoor activity with a difference. Visitors can take part in off-road walking treks accompanied by the ever-popular animal, the alpaca.

Founded in December 2020 by Fred and Francesca Wade, the family run firm launched with the hope of diversifying the tourism offering in the local area and promoting an exciting option for the daily, socially distanced walk.

As well as 1:1 start-up advice with a business plan, routes to funding, company regulations and marketing support, Business Gateway signposted co-business owner Francesca to a suite of digital training programmes such as Google my Business, a platform that drives customer engagement.

As a result of these improvements to their online presence, West Coast Alpacas experienced a 60% increase in social media engagement and is fully booked until March 2021.

In a bid to get to know their target customer, the family-run firm also benefited from the EFRS market research reports available on the Business Gateway website that provided detailed information about statistics and demographics, allowing West Coast Alpacas to gain further insight during the launch phase.

By working closely with her Business Gateway adviser, Francesca was also

supported with the process of registering as a limited company, the development of a full and accurate risk assessment to ensure the site was COVID-19 safe and was signposted to a range of available government grant funding opportunities.

Renowned for being well trained, gentle animals, West Coast Alpacas currently operates with eight furry friends that live in a paddock on site and offers two treks on Saturdays and Sundays around the Inverclyde region. The business hopes to add three more alpacas to its family and run seasonal events throughout 2021 when it is safe to do so.

Francesca Wade, West Coast Alpacas, said: “Being lovers of the outdoors, we wanted to add something special to our local area. We have such a great community spirit here in Inverclyde and we want to encourage people to explore what's on their doorstep.

“From our first conversations with Business Gateway at the end of 2020, we’ve been

able to establish our website and social media presence and in a very short time have developed an effective online booking platform, EventSmart, where customers can easily book a slot to visit.

“Through a range of webinars, Business Gateway has equipped us with the necessary skills to increase our customer-base and signposted us to the wider network to secure financial support from the council.”

Barbara Mennie, Business Gateway adviser, said: “It’s excellent to see a tourism business like West Coast Alpacas thriving during what has been an exceptionally challenging year for the industry.

“Through a bespoke package of start-up support services, Francesca and Fred have been able to achieve impressive results, and have ensured their business is in a strong position going into the 2021 summer period.”

To find out how Business Gateway can help your business, visit www.bgateway.com

It’s excellent to see a tourism business like West Coast Alpacas thriving during what has been an exceptionally challenging year for the industry.

Barbara Mennie, Business Gateway adviser

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Roofing firm named member of the guild of master craftsmen Family firm Old Plean Roofing has been admitted to the prestigious Guild of Master Craftsmen.

The company, run by Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce members Mark and Fiona Thornton, is the first Scottish specialist roofing firm in seven years to be accredited by the Guild in recognition of its high standards and expertise.

The team, based in Old Plean, Stirling, are honoured to gain membership of the organisation which represents both modern day and traditional craftsmen and promotes excellence and integrity.

Fiona said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded this accreditation which really reflects the standards we have always aimed for and the type of high-quality roofing and customer service we offer.

“When we launched the business, we did so with the aim of improving industry standards and offering local people an honest, efficient roofing service with a high level of competency.

“It’s wonderful to be recognised for the work we are doing and to receive this seal of approval from an organisation as prestigious as the Guild of Master Craftsmen.”

Mark and Fiona have been members of Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce for five years.

Mark said: “We’re a young company and Lynn Blaikie and her team at the Chamber

have always been supportive - inviting us to networking events and promoting Old Plean Roofing in their newsletter and other publications.

“They’ve also provided informative daily emails throughout the Covid-19 crisis which have been essential reading - it’s good to be part of an organisation so committed to supporting local businesses.”

The team at Old Plean Roofing was selected for membership of the Guild, the UK’s oldest trade association, following a thorough vetting procedure which included customer references and an assessment of their workmanship and business practices.

The accolade highlights the firm’s commitment to first class service and entitles them to display the Guild’s emblem which is recognised as a mark of quality workmanship.

The Much Hon. Duncan Paisley of Westerlea, Chief Assessor (Scotland) for the Guild of Master Craftsmen, was pleased to welcome Old Plean Roofing as a member.

He said: “I was overjoyed to see Mark and Fiona accredited as members of the Guild and they are to be commended for their undoubted hands-on skills, qualifications, consistent high-quality work and commitment to customer service.

“Old Plean Roofing are the first specialist roofers in their category in Scotland to be accepted as Guild members in seven years so they should be very proud of what they have achieved.”

Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce President Lynn Blaikie said: “Old Plean Roofing are an active member of the Chamber who are committed to high standards and excellent customer service in all they do.

“I’m delighted to see their talents and skills recognised by the Guild with this well-deserved honour.”

Mark and Fiona set up Old Plean Roofing in January 2019 after several years running Thornton Construction Consultants – a highly regarded consultancy providing technical advice on roofing to construction businesses.

They decided to use Mark’s 30+ years of industry experience to expand into the residential market covering Central Scotland and Fife.

The Old Plean Roofing team specialise in flat roofing and also work with pitched roofs with services including repairing roofs following water, wind or theft damage.

For more details visit www.oldpleanroofing.co.uk

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

New President Liz Connolly announced by Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce Ms Liz Connolly has been named as President of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce following the retirement of Tom Johnston.

Ms Connolly is Principal and Chief Executive of West College Scotland. Liz joined the board in 2019 and is the third woman to serve as President in the Chamber’s fiftyseven-year history.

Joining Liz on the leadership team is Derek McNab, MD of Mabbett & Associates Ltd in the elected role of vice-President. The board also welcomes new director Ms Elaine Sherlock, Head of Business Operations for Ingliston Country Club and Hotel, Bishopton.

Chamber President Liz Connolly said “I

am delighted and honoured to be named President of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce. I look forward to working with my fellow Board members, Bob and his team to support our members as we move towards economic recovery. I would also like to pay tribute to the enormous contribution that our Past President Tom Johnston has made to the Renfrewshire economy during his years as President.”

President. Her strategic expertise on the board has been a great asset as we continue to grow and support our members during this recovery period. Liz’s extensive experience of education, business, and economic development in both the public and private sectors is an important fit; for example, we know that skills are a major challenge and enabler of economic recovery for our business community. “

Immediate Past-President Tom Johnston said “I have been honoured to serve on the board of Renfrewshire Chamber and as President. The time has come to pass the baton on. I wish Liz every success in the post of President and trust she will enjoy the post as much as I have.”

Renfrewshire Chamber is the main business membership organisation in Renfrewshire.

They offer extensive networking, learning, and support opportunities for the wider business community with a team of 12 staff based at Glasgow Airport. Their newly launched Customs Declaration service ChamberCustoms is designed to help navigate import and export regulations post Brexit. www.renfrewshirechamber.com

Chief executive Bob Grant said “We are delighted Liz has taken up the role of

We are delighted Liz has taken up the role of President. Her strategic expertise on the board has been a great asset as we continue to grow and support our members during this recovery period. Bob Grant, Chief executive Business Scotland

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Booth Welsh hits milestone of 300 people As we welcome 2021, a New Year with hope for better times ahead, it is important that we take the time to reflect on the last year. 2020 was an unpredictable and worrying time for so many and it is with great pride that Booth Welsh was not only able to survive but also grow.

When Booth Welsh was founded in 1989, it started as a small family-run business is an industrial estate in Stevenston, Ayrshire. Throughout the last thirtyone years, Booth Welsh has seen many transitions during this time, from optimising service offerings to become a fully multi-discipline EPC services, adding new clients, people and industry areas, Booth Welsh have achieved many milestones as a business. The business is proud to announce that their latest is achieving a 300-strong workforce in January 2021.

The team has been steadily growing over a number of years and despite 11 months of COVID lockdown the business has evolved once again by making two acquisitions.

Firstly, in October 2020 when Booth Welsh made their first acquisition, welcoming iTech to the Booth Welsh family. ITech are a factory automation business with a strong foothold in Food & Beverage and Water sectors and great synergies with Booth Welsh in their approach to Digital Technology and complementary culture both invaluable particularly in a post COVID world. More recently Booth Welsh invested in an energy from waste business, securing first refusal on up to five EPC contracts for developments in the UK. Both acquisitions will make a significant impact on the future of the business, TegCo will bring large EPC experience to the business and iTech increases our sector diversity and new clients.

Along with expanding their service offering, Booth Welsh have also expanded their horizons when recruiting the latest talent. Booth Welsh’s approach to recruitment has transformed as they look to focus on capabilities that lie out with the realms of traditional engineering skills. Over the last year they have added new talent to the business in the areas of project management, estimating, commercial, tendering, recruitment, trades and new engineering disciplines.

Booth Welsh Managing Director, Martin Welsh, comments, “It is an exciting time for Booth Welsh. We are continuing to expand our team with an active recruitment drive, and we see future generations coming through with a combination of

both traditional engineering and digital skills that will play a key part in our continued success. We are welcoming people into our business who have skills that we would never have anticipated five years ago. We welcomed our first gaming engineer in 2019 and these new skillsets have been invaluable to the development of our engineering solutions and our differentiating digital offerings.”

Furthermore, Martin goes on to discuss the added excitement of being an Ayrshirebased business at this time, with the highly anticipated Ayrshire Growth Deal.

We have always been proud to have our roots in Ayrshire. Our business has seen many changes to the area over the course of our lifetime, but the Ayrshire Growth Deal is the most exciting yet. We care about our community and look forward to playing our part in helping support the growth of Ayrshire through this landmark initiative. Our engineering and digital expertise will be a great support to a number of projects associated with the Growth Deal and we look forward to working with like-minded businesses to achieve a common goal of inclusive growth

and economic development for Ayrshire.’

North Ayrshire Council Leader Joe Cullinane adds, “Congratulations to Booth Welsh on reaching the 300-employee milestone. This has been the most challenging of years as a result of the Covid pandemic but it is great that Booth Welsh, as a local company, is continuing to grow, not only safeguarding existing jobs but also creating new ones.

“Booth Welsh are a leader in their field, and we have always been very proud of their North Ayrshire roots as a local family business. They’ve always invested in North Ayrshire and its people and they continue to do so with 6 new apprenticeships, providing young people with a good start in their careers.

“We share Booth Welsh’ excitement for the future of Ayrshire. Over the coming years there will be huge opportunities for local businesses as part of our Community Wealth Building approach to economic development as well as the roll out of projects as part of the Ayrshire Growth Deal. We look forward to Booth Welsh continued success in the area.”

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

South Ayrshire to benefit from Scotland’s largest social modular housing development South Ayrshire is to benefit from Scotland’s largest social modular housing development which will deliver much-needed new affordable housing by Autumn 2022.

The £9.8million project is being delivered by Ayrshire Chamber Member Irvine Housing Association (part of the Riverside Group) and Connect Modular, a division of The Wee House Company, also a member of Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce. Work begins this month on the site at Kilmarnock Road, Dundonald.

The investment – which includes Scottish Government funding of £4.7million - begins with the delivery of 63 brand new affordable homes, the first phase of a 250-strong property development located at the site. The first affordable homes will be made available to Irvine Housing Association customers before the end of the year.

The development will see a blend of house types, including one bedroom flats, three bedroom houses and two bedroom amenity bungalows.

The project is Irvine Housing Association’s first development in South Ayrshire, and will be an addition to their existing portfolio of 2,000 homes across North Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

The Wee House Company, specialists in modular construction will design and fabricate all houses in their Ayrshire factory.

Houses will be 90% complete when they depart the factory with kitchens, bathrooms, plumbing and electrics installed, facilitating a significantly shorter build programme and earlier occupancy. In comparison to a traditional build project, fabrication under factory conditions diminishes waste, improves quality, negates the impacts of adverse weather and allows for overlap of site preparation and build phases – a more efficient process all round.

Jennifer Higgins, Managing Director of The Wee House Company, commented: “We’re thrilled to be working with Irvine Housing Association to create such an innovative housing development. The use of modular

This is a really exciting development for us – our first in South Ayrshire and our first modular housing project - and we’re delighted to be partnering with the Wee House Company to deliver these muchneeded, innovative and greener new homes for our tenants. construction improves build quality and means homes will be available for occupancy earlier. Irvine Housing’s willingness to embrace this evolution in construction has been key to the scale of the project. We are delighted that they have partnered with us, a Scottish manufacturer, to provide Scotland’s largest modular affordable housing development.

Paul Hillard, Managing Director of Irvine Housing Association said: “This is a really exciting development for us – our first in South Ayrshire and our first modular housing project - and we’re delighted to be partnering with the Wee House Company to deliver these much-needed, innovative and greener new homes for our tenants.

“We believe it’s important to keep delivering greater capacity to meet social housing demands across Ayrshire, through projects like this that offer good value for our customers and can be delivered efficiently

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while keeping the standard of homes very high. We look forward to welcoming customers into their new homes.”

Councillor Philip Saxton, Housing and Community Wellbeing Portfolio Holder for South Ayrshire Council said: “This is fantastic news for Dundonald and South Ayrshire, as we look to expand affordable housing. We will be able to allocate all 63 of these homes to people on our housing waiting list, I look forward to the start of works.”

Irvine Housing Association has been part of the Riverside Group since 2011. The business benefits from the Group’s expertise and financial and business strength to be able to deliver new-build developments and continued investment in existing homes which are essential to ensuring a good standard of living accommodation for all customers.

CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Project Management - the key skillset for companies as we come out of lockdown As Lockdown ends, many companies are asking “what now”? We need to do things differently but how? Over the next months, and possibly years, managers will need to run a series of one-off activities to bring their businesses in line with the new reality.

By Billy Grierson Perth Innovation Ltd

Since a project is defined as a temporary activity intended to deliver a specific result, they need to become Project Managers. So how does this differ from “normal” management?

Project Management is a lot like herding cats. Everybody wants to go off and do their own thing and everybody knows best what needs to be done. The Project Manager has to bring together all the interested parties (aka Stakeholders) in such a way that they are committed to the success of the project.

What Does a Project Manager Do? It is the job of the Project Manager to ensure that the project requirements are delivered, in full, on time and on budget, meeting the stakeholders’ expectations.

In order to do this, the project manager needs to have skills in three areas:

Leadership: The Project Manager is the leader of the project team. The main leadership role is to ensure that the team understands what the project is about, why it is being run and what the desired outcome is.

The project manager creates the environment in which the team can deliver the project. Skills such as coaching and mentoring, negotiation, problem-solving, and team building are all part of the Project Manager’s toolbox.

Technical: These are the skills that most people think of as being what a Project Manager does. Planning the project, managing time, cost and quality, ensuring that the team is performing as needed and managing risk and change within the project.

Strategic: The Project Manager is the link between the project and the rest of the organisation. They perform an important role in ensuring that the project helps deliver the company’s strategy.

They need to have business acumen, a good understanding of the industry the company operates in, and of the structure of the company itself.

What is the impact of project management?

The Project Management Institute has estimated that, when all three of the core project management skill sets are developed, the rate of project success increases by about 40% Projects, whether large or small, will be more effective if the leadership (i.e. project manager) can define objectives, roles and responsibilities, and deliverables clearly.

As well as giving realistic estimates of timings and managing expectations.

An Economist Intelligence report showed that 80 percent of global executives believed having project management as a core competency reduced risks, cut costs and improved success rates, helping them remain competitive during the recession.

Summary One of the most critical skills needed by companies, not just as we come out of lockdown, but for the foreseeable future will be Project Management. A large part of the operation of companies is becoming projectized, but staff training in how to manage these projects has fallen behind.

Now is the opportunity to correct that.

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

DWYDG’s Partner EDT launches 12 week STEM project EDT, Developing the Young Workforce Dumfries and Galloway’s partner, have launched their ‘Industrial Cadets bronze programme’ - a 12 week #STEM project aimed at helping young people develop key skills for learning, life and work.

EDT has over 35 years' experience supporting young people through industrylinked STEM activities, mapped to the Industrial Cadets accreditation framework.

Industrial Cadets provides young people with employability skills and a nationally recognised award for STEM, developed in collaboration with a network of STEM employers.

Sponsored by both DYWDG and Community Windpower, the programme supports young people from both Moffat and Langholm, highlighting the importance of both towns’ roles in future renewable energy proposals. Each team will prepare a project based around the renewable industry and present in a regional competition, the winner of which will represent Dumfries and Galloway at a national final planned for later in the year.

“We are very keen to ensure that people are informed and prepared for the various opportunities this expanding sector is going to offer” says DYW DG Programme Manager, Justin Thomas.

“The potential for solid careers in the future is huge and working with EDT and Community Windpower on this project is an ideal way to introduce young people to a sector which will play a vital role in the lives of many in our region. We cannot thank Flora and the EDT team for working so hard over the last year to ensure that this exciting programme can work just as well virtually.”

Significant work has been done over the last year to allow this opportunity to work online whilst still encouraging team communication. The programme will involve: Focusing on the “real-life” effects and applications of skills/knowledge, as well as further study/career paths Encouraging young people to “see themselves” in STEM through a diverse selection of mentors Exploring the wide range of different study/career pathways available,

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including apprenticeships, college and university; emphasising that there is no “wrong” option Taking learning outside of the normal classroom context, focusing on handson and team-based activities, and challenging the distinction between “analytical” and “creative” subjects/ skills "Community Windpower are pleased to be taking part in this year’s Industrial Cadets bronze programme in Dumfries and Galloway” says Rebecca Elliott, Assistant Project manager for Community Windpower. “Having worked with both EDT and DYW DG in the past, we knew that this was the perfect project to get involved in. The project focuses on renewable energy and we are able to provide industry knowledge and insight to the students through the mentoring part of the programme. CWL believe it is important to work and share our knowledge with the younger generations, especially in the areas close to our developments, as there are so many green job opportunities in the renewable energy sector that the students may be interested in pursuing in the future.”

Community Windpower Ltd is at the forefront of wind energy development in the UK with over 1GW built, under construction and in development including sites near Langholm and Moffat, as well as further proposals within D&G. With business interests in D&G and experience in the identification, design, development, construction and operation of onshore wind farms and continuing support for DYW DG #workready projects, they were an ideal partner in this project.

Several members of the CWL team have volunteered to act as the vital mentors for the young people during this project and all will be on hand when required to give business advise and encouragement.

EDT Industry Engagement Manager, Flora Lewis Gott said, “We are delighted to be working with DYW DG, Community Windpower, the Langholm Initiative and Moffat Academy DYW on this project. This is an exciting opportunity to engage young people with the Renewable Energy sector and introduce them to an exciting future of work in the local area. We are also excited as this is also the first time in 3 years that Dumfries and Galloway will have students representing the area in the National Industrial Cadet Bronze project.”

CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

DYW Dumfries and Galloway’s STEM event moves to YouTube!

The Developing the Young Workforce Dumfries and Galloway team have announced that their 2021 ‘Bang Goes DG!’ STEM event will be presented on their newly refreshed YouTube Channel, #DYWFlix this May. Work has now begun on the STEM programme with businesses and organisations being approached to take part.

DYW Programme Manager, Justin Thomas said, "After having to cancel the 2020 live event we were determined to make sure we did something for 2021 and taking it online was the obvious answer. It means that we can play with BGDG's format and open it out to all young people wherever they are and for the first time we can now also involve pupils at primary age."

As with the live show, the aim of BGDG is to inform young people about what Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics actually are and how they are involved in numerous sectors and to showcase the many career opportunities that can, do and could exist around them in their futures and to ensure that they remain encouraged that there are careers and opportunities awaiting them.

Justin continues, "We want to express that even with COVID-19 in our lives, STEM opportunities adapt and carry on and we would like to illustrate how careers, technologies and ways of working have changed due to the virus and how these changes will impact the working life of our young people in their futures. We do not want to shy away from reality and are asking contributors if they can present issues and facts by showing viewers how the world has changed and will continue to adapt to a COVID 19 world. We would like to ask ‘What does Digital mean post COVID -19?’ What could ‘remote working’ look like and we are very keen to develop a series of webisodes about what exactly COVID-19 actually is and how Scientists especially have dealt with the situation."

The format of the week will be altered for 2021 with an entire week of content being developed. DYW DG’s regular partners, Food and Drink Federation Scotland, Scottish Engineering and CITB are again involved and also helping to source material.

All material will be available by the #BGDG playlist on DYW DG’s YouTube channel http://bit.ly/3q4KNPm Consisting of several playlists including ‘Yesterdays Times’, ‘Business View’, ‘Skills for Life’, ‘Be inspired’, ‘Offices without walls’, ‘Step into care’, ‘Be our Guest’ and more, the channel underwent an overhaul during the 2020 lockdown and focus on it becoming a resource to inform viewers about various aspects of the world of work from industry insights to interviews to site tours designed

to be an addition to learning in and out of the classroom was developed.

A series of various Continuous Professional Development webisodes is also currently in preparation for Teachers, Careers Advisors, Jobcentre Advisors and Parents/Guardians.

“We have lots more planned for the channel throughout 2021” says Justin, “including brand new content for

#Sciencebehindtheflavours (food and drink industry) and #ThisIsEngineering, so please do subscribe to keep up to date and ring that bell to get notifications of our updates!”

‘DYWFlix’ is available on YouTube (Search DYW Dumfries & Galloway) ‘Bang Goes DG! 2021’ will take place May 2428th. For information on how to participate email justin.thomas@dywdg.co.uk

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Tailor Maid Home Care Tailor Maid Home Care is an award winning family business based in East Renfrewshire, caring for the people to remain independent in their own home.

Established since 2010, by sisters Shirley Dickson and Jennifer Woods they always apply the “Mums test “when recruiting new staff ie: only recruit Care Practitioners who have the same values, compassion and attitude as they would be comfortable with looking after their own parents.

We take pride in providing care to a very high standard and have been finalist of the Scottish Care “Care at Home Provider of the Year” prestigious award in 2017,2018 and again in 2020.

This recognition was particularly special for us this year as our Team as we were selected from hundreds of other care providers from all over Scotland. Despite being runner up, we are so proud of our Team who have all gone above and beyond and continue to go that extra mile. As well as supporting clients with all personal

Over two years we received excellent care in every respect and I would recommend anyone to engage Tailor Maid Home Care for care without hesitation.

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care, domestic support , companionship and medications, we have become a huge part of client’s lives who have been cut off from families due to social distancing restrictions in place. Isolation issues, keeping active and mental health have become a huge priority in our care and we have embedded covid-19 improvements to ensure we keep our clients connected with families and friends.

Supporting clients to try out new activities and client spotlight features in our newsletters to share amazing stories of their past with other have been well received. Courtesy calls from our team for those experiencing loneliness has been really helpful to keep in touch and break up a long day. We have used technology to brighten up clients days with tik tok ,Pod casts and you tube being watched for the first time by many.

In social visits we have supported clients to try new things and many have tried baking, crafts , jigsaw swaps and we are about to start a Tomato Plant challenge. Memory cards and puzzles have been distributed.

Missing out on their social times at local clubs has impacted on their mental health and our Tailor Maid Team have tried our utmost to brighten up their day!

Regulated annually by the Care Inspectorate, our Grading reflects our Top Grading standards of Care and we are highly regarded in the community and work in partnership with Health and Social Care Sector.

Our Care Practitioners are fully trained in SVQ2/3 Health and Social care qualifications and we take pride in the team all being Dementia Specialists. We undertake training from Stirling University “Best Practice in Dementia”.

During such worrying times with the current Pandemic , our team are committed to protecting all clients against Covid19 and all staff have undertaken enhanced infection control training to ensure your protection. Staff wear full PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) with all interactions with clients. We are all currently being vaccinated and have a mandatory COVID-19 Test to take each week to ensure our clients safety.

Testimonials “Just wanted to say thank you so much to all the ladies who are working hard and still caring for mum in these terrible times we are living through. John and I are very grateful to you for your excellent service” Over two years we received excellent care in every respect and I would recommend anyone to engage Tailor Maid Home Care for care without hesitation.”

CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Our Human Capital The world has irrevocably changed; and slowly people are coming to the realisation that it will continue to look different from life and work as we knew it pre-Covid.

So now that the vaccination programme is reducing serious health risks, and the Government is mapping out our pathway to economic recovery – we need to ensure our organisations are not only fit for purpose, but ready for the rebound from this pandemic.

The Challenge People are at the heart of any organisation.

As leaders and managers guiding our businesses forward through the next 1224 months, what is needed to effectively support our people?

As individuals, we’ve all been impacted by the pandemic. Much has been asked of us, and our resilience has shone through.

Moving into the post-pandemic world, more is going to be asked of us again – and as employers we have a responsibility to ensure our people are passionate, focused, competent and productive.

So what will it take?

In order for us to get the best out of our people, we need to review how we develop and support them – and that means understanding that the needs of our workforce have changed.

We’ve asked people to adjust to furlough (on full or reduced pay), and sometimes to return to work after a period of time off. Or we’ve asked them to work from home, work flexibly or work within Social Distancing guidelines – changing their routines, environments and activities. Now we’re about to ask them to change again.

We have a duty of care to our employees. We have done our best to safeguard jobs, and now we need to ensure those efforts don’t go to waste. We not only need to review their basic needs, but their skills, fulfilment and emotional/mental wellbeing needs too: Support for employees: Are they financially stable? Has their capacity changed? Is the environment allowing them to be productive?

Do they have skill gaps that training could address? Or skills we’ve not been utilising?

Are they feeling satisfied or fulfilled by the work they are delivering? Do they need emotional support? Has their mental wellbeing been affected?

Support for managers: (As for employees, with the addition of) Do they need additional training or support to help them manage people who are struggling to cope or adapt, or are fatigued by the experiences of the last year – who may need renewed engagement, motivation and purpose?

By Sam Forsberg ActionCOACH

Support for leaders: (As for managers, with the addition of) Do they need space to reconnect with and redefine the vision for the organisations they lead? Do they need support in finding the right balance between the needs of their employees and the commercial needs of the business? Do they need time off to recharge?

That’s a lot on top of the recent priorities of survival, adaptation or managing the boom.

So what can an organisation do to plan, adjust and develop the right support for all its people?

What’s worked?

One thing that’s worked really well for my clients is introducing DISC Behavioural Profiling. It shares insights into our communication preferences, our response to change, the type of environments we work best in, our strengths as well as potential areas for improvement – but it considers them contextually – both through our natural styles as well as the adaptive styles we use in the workplace.

This has helped individuals understand themselves better, given them an understanding of how others’ styles differ, and helped leaders and managers spot ways they can better support individuals as well as teams. That then helps them communicate and delegate more effectively, and recognise when they may need to adapt in order to get the best out of their people.

In a world of uncertainty and continuous change – this understanding brings compassion, cohesion and clarity for people and the organisations that are depending on them to rebuild Scotland’s future.

Way forward If we ignore the cumulative impact on our people, we run the risk of depreciating our human capital. If we invest in and look after our people, then our organisations, our communities and the Scottish economy stand to come out of this stronger.

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Universities and Colleges unite to help businesses prosper The University of Dundee have joined forces with the University of Stirling, Dundee & Angus College, Fife College, Perth College, Forth Valley College and West Lothian College to create a working relationship, with the aim of helping local businesses to develop their talent, boost their performance and grow their business.

From Business to Engineering, IT to Social Care, the Scottish Apprenticeship Family provides fully funded opportunities for businesses of all shapes and sizes, whether they are looking to develop talent of the future by offering opportunities to those just starting their career, or they would like to develop current or new members of their workforce all the way up to degree level.

The idea was the brainchild of Wayne Paul, the University of Dundee’s Industrial Liaison Officer for their Graduate Apprenticeship Programme.

“Throughout my career my priority has always been to connect people with products or services that make their lives easier.

When I joined the University within the Marketing Team, I had never heard of the Scottish Apprenticeship Family, but finding out more about it made me curious - a programme that was not only fully funded but also so easily accessible without mountains of paperwork and hoops to jump through. Ultimately, existing to provide businesses of all shapes and sizes with the opportunities they needed to develop their workforce at no additional cost to the business. I was hooked!”

Moving into his current role, one question always remained at the back of Wayne’s mind, why had he never heard about the Scottish Apprenticeship Family before?

Having worked for a few large businesses, represented many small to medium sized businesses, and owned several of his own businesses, Wayne was a prime target for the Scottish Apprenticeship Family.

“When I started in my role, I decided to investigate why this could be the case.

Speaking with employers, support organisations and fellow professionals, it was clear that many of them had also never heard of the Scottish Apprenticeship Family or had only heard about one of them.”

After analysing his findings, it became clear that three main barriers existed. The first was clearly brand awareness for those who had never heard of the programme. The second however was a lack of collaboration amongst apprenticeship providers.

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Wayne Paul

University of Dundee’s Industrial Liaison Officer for their Graduate Apprenticeship Programme

“If employers had heard of the apprenticeship family, many did not know that Foundation, Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships were part of the same family and that they could, for example, provide an opportunity to someone at school via a Foundation Apprenticeship and then hire them and progress them through both a Modern Apprenticeship and Graduate Apprenticeship, leaving them with an employee who is fully integrated within the company structure, with many years of industry experience and has a full honours degree, all at no additional training cost to the business.”

The third, and perhaps most challenging barrier, is that there is still a stigma around apprenticeships.

Many people hear the word apprenticeship and associate them solely with the trades,

or that they are for those who did not thrive at school. Perhaps one of the largest misconceptions is that apprenticeships are only for young people or for new employees.

“The Scottish Apprenticeship Family is such a versatile programme that it allows businesses to develop their workforce at any stage of their career, be that providing an opportunity to someone just starting out in their career, upskilling a current member of the workforce, or providing an opportunity for someone who is looking to change direction within the business.”

Having established that these barriers existed, Wayne set about trying to resolve them.

Then the pandemic hit!

“The pandemic really put into perspective just how beneficial the Scottish Apprenticeship

CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

Family can be for businesses of all shapes and sizes. The pandemic impacted businesses in so many ways, from employers having to reduce their workforce and increase their efficiency, others needing to maximise the capabilities of their current workforce, and even those who needed to expand their workforce due to an increase in demand.

Regardless of the impact the pandemic had, and continues to have, on businesses, one constant remained. The need to invest in the development of their workforce. But at a time when resources were tight, many businesses faced having to significantly reduce or completely stop any employee development opportunities. This is where I saw an opportunity for our Graduate Apprenticeship Programme to step in and help businesses to continue to develop their workforce without putting extra financial pressure on the business. This led to the creation of our ‘Developing your workforce in difficult times’ campaign which not only helped to increase brand awareness of the programme but also allowed employers to see how their business could benefit from them.”

Although this led to record numbers of Graduate Apprentices joining the Graduate Apprenticeship Programme in October, Wayne was not finished yet.

“Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, my plans to collaborate with other Universities and Colleges who offer the Scottish Apprenticeship Family were put on hold, as we all tried to navigate the unknown situation we were facing. Once we had successfully welcomed our new intake of Graduate Apprentices, I set about forming plans to increase collaboration among providers. This started with the formation of the Graduate Apprenticeship Employer Engagement Network, a group that meets quarterly with representatives from all Graduate Apprenticeship providers coming together to share their ideas on how we can support as many employers as we can and overcome any barriers we are facing.”

This was a great start, but it was only the beginning.

The Scottish Apprenticeship Family is such a versatile programme that it allows businesses to develop their workforce at any stage of their career.

Wayne Paul

“After I connected with my fellow Graduate Apprenticeship providers, I also wanted to reach out to the colleges in our area that offer Foundation and Modern Apprenticeships. This was not only to increase collaboration and make the employer and apprentices journey more seamless when utilising the Scottish Apprenticeship Family, but also to start developing strong long-term relationships with these providers, so that we could closely work together and look at ways to help businesses prosper.”

Family is and how businesses can benefit from them. These apprenticeships can work hand in hand with the business’s goals and objectives, allowing them to focus on the task at hand whilst we work to develop the skills and experience that are entering their business, increasing their flexibility, responsiveness and efficiency. Our aim is to help as many businesses as we can during these trying times so we would be delighted to speak to any employers about how the Scottish Apprenticeship Family can help their business.”

Having formed an instant bond with his counterpart at the University of Stirling Fiona McMillan, they joined forces and met with representatives from Dundee & Angus College, Fife College, Perth College, Forth Valley College and West Lothian College.

With future collaborations in the pipeline, it is an exciting time for both the providers and employers to maximise the potential the Scottish Apprenticeship Family has for everyone involved.

“What was incredible to see was that we established very quickly that we were all on the same page and that by working together we could overcome some of the barriers we were facing and ultimately increase brand awareness of all the apprenticeships, helping more and more businesses to survive and prosper, especially during these difficult times.”

Fiona agrees: “Collaborating with Wayne and our college partners is a real pleasure, and we’re delighted to be making more organisations aware of the positive impacts of the whole apprenticeship family.

Apprenticeships provide a fantastic solution to the skills challenges faced by many companies, equipping them for the future – we’re proud to be part of that.”

These meetings ultimately led to the first of many collaborations between all the Universities and Colleges involved, with the launch of the series of Scottish Apprenticeship Employer Events in early March.

“As businesses start to look to the future and look at the support that is available to them, we wanted to start our collaboration off with a series of events that outlined exactly what the Scottish Apprenticeship

You can find out more about the Scottish Apprenticeship Family at the links below: Foundation Apprenticeships Dundee & Angus College Fife College Perth College West Lothian College Forth Valley College Modern Apprenticeships Dundee & Angus College Fife College Perth College West Lothian College Forth Valley College Graduate Apprenticeships University of Dundee University of Stirling

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CHAMBERCONNECTIONS

CHAMBER CONTACTS

Scottish Chambers of Commerce Strathclyde Business School, 199 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0QU T: 0141 444 7500 E: admin@scottishchambers.org.uk www.scottishchambers.org.uk President – Tim Allan Chief Executive - Liz Cameron OBE

Dumfries & Galloway Chamber of Commerce

Scottish Chambers of Commerce

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce The Hub, Exploration Drive Aberdeen Energy Park, Bridge of Don Aberdeen, AB23 8GX T: 01224 343900 E: info@agcc.co.uk www.agcc.co.uk Chief Executive - Russell Borthwick President - Colette Backwell Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce & Industry The Mezzanine, Glasgow Prestwick International Airport, Prestwick, KA9 2PL T: 01292 678 666 F: 01292 678 667 E: enquiries@ayrshire-chamber.org www.ayrshire-chamber.org Chief Executive - Val Russell President - Frank Gormanley Cairngorms Business Partnership Ltd Inverdruie House, Inverdruie Aviemore, PH22 1QH T: 01479 810200 E: office@visitcairngorms.com www.visitcairngorms.com Chief Executive - Mark Tate Chair of the Partnership - Claire Bruce Caithness Chamber of Commerce Naver Business Centre Naver House, Naver Road Thurso, KW14 7QA T: 01847 890076 E: info@caithnesschamber.com www.caithnesschamber.com Chief Executive - Trudy Morris Chairman - Stephen Sutherland

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Eskdale House, The Crichton, Bankend Road Dumfries, DG1 4UQ T: 01387 270866 E: admin@dgchamber.co.uk www.dgchamber.co.uk President – Kenny Bowie Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce Whitecrook Business Centre 78 Whitecrook Street, Clydebank, G81 1QF T: 0141 280 0272 E: admin@dunbartonshirechamber.co.uk www.dunbartonshirechamber.co.uk Chief Executive - Damon Scott President - Stewart Rennie Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce 37 City Quay, Camperdown Street Dundee, DD1 3JA T: 01382 228545 F: 01382 228441 E: info@dundeeandanguschamber.co.uk www.dundeeandanguschamber.co.uk Chief Executive - Alison Henderson President - James Buchan East Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce 1 Golf Road, Clarkston, East Renfrewshire G76 7HU T: 0141 887 6181 E: info@eastrenchamber.org.uk www.eastrenchamber.org.uk Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce 40 George Street, 2nd floor Edinburgh, EH2 2LE T: 0131 221 2999 F: 0131 261 5056 E: info@edinburghchamber.co.uk www.edinburghchamber.co.uk Chief Executive – Liz McAreavey President - Jane Clark-Hutchison

Fife Chamber of Commerce Office 7A, Flexspace, Mitchelston Drive Kirkcaldy, Fife KY1 3NB Fife, KY2 6HD T: 01592 647740 E: info@fifechamber.co.uk www.fifechamber.co.uk CEO – Alan Mitchell President – Brian Horisk Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce Group (incorporating Stirling Chamber of Commerce) Suite 2, Scion House Stirling University Innovation Park Stirling, FK9 4NF T: 01786 448 333 E: info@forthvalleychamber.co.uk www.forthvalleychamber.co.uk President Lynn Blaikie Glasgow Chamber of Commerce 30 George Square, Glasgow, G2 1EQ T: 0141 204 2121 E: chamber@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com Chief Executive Stuart Patrick President - Dr Paul Little Helensburgh Chamber of Commerce M&T Builders Merchants, 22 Charlotte Street, Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, G84 7PH T: 07789904687 E: info@helensburghchamber.org www.helensburghchamber.org.uk Chief Executive - John Clark Inverclyde Chamber of Commerce Room 5, Victoria House 5 East Blackhall Street, Greenock, PA15 1HD T: 01475 806824 E: seo@inverclydechamber.co.uk www.inverclydechamber.co.uk Chief Executive Officer – George McKay President – Gavin McDonagh

CHAMBER CONTACTS

Inverness Chamber of Commerce Metropolitan House 31-33 High Street, Inverness, IV1 1HT T: 01463 718 131 E: info@inverness-chamber.co.uk www.inverness-chamber.co.uk Chief Executive - Stewart Nicol President - George Moodie Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce Barncluith Business Centre, Townhead St, Hamilton, ML3 7DP T: 0330 0947370 www.lanarkshirechamber.org.uk E: info@lanarkshirechamber.org.uk Director: Tracey Campbell-Hynd Lochaber Chamber of Commerce 15 High Street, Fort William, PH33 6DH T: 01397 705 765 E: membership@lochaberchamber.co.uk www.lochaberchamber.co.uk Chairman - Bruno Berardelli Chief Executive - Frazer Coupland Midlothian & East Lothian Chamber of Commerce Moulsdale House, Edinburgh College 24d Milton Road East, Edinburgh, EH15 2PP T: 0131 603 5040 E: info@melcc.org.uk www.melcc.org.uk Chief Executive - Karen Ritchie Moray Chamber of Commerce Moray Sports Centre, Linkwood Road, Elgin, Moray, Scotland, IV30 8AR T: 01343 543344 E: info@moraychamber.co.uk www.moraychamber.co.uk Chief Executive - Sarah Medcraf President Carol Stewart

Outer Hebrides Chamber of Commerce Stornoway Business Hub, Stornoway, HS1 2XG, Isle of Lewis T: 07939 450 276 E: info@outerhebrideschamber.co.uk www.outerhebrideschamber.co.uk Chief Executive - Lynne Maciver Chair - John Moffat Perthshire Chamber of Commerce Saltire House, 3 Whitefriars Crescent Perth, PH2 0PA T: 01738 448 325 F: 01738 450 402 E: info@perthshirechamber.co.uk www.perthshirechamber.co.uk Chief Executive - Vicki Unite President - Stephen Leckie Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce Bute Court, St Andrews Drive Glasgow Airport, Paisley, PA3 2SW T: 0141 847 5450 F: 0141 847 5499 E: info@renfrewshirechamber.com www.renfrewshirechamber.com Chief Executive – Bob Grant President – Liz Connolly

Scottish Chambers of Commerce Strathclyde Business School 199 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, G4 0QU T: 0141 444 7500 www.scottishchambers.org.uk @ScotChambers Like us on Facebook Siobhan Divers Head of Content T: 0141 444 7509 E: sdivers@scottishchambers.org.uk

Production, Design & Advertising Distinctive Group 3rd Floor, Tru Knit House, 9-11 Carliol Square Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 6UF Telephone 0191 5805990 production@distinctivegroup.co.uk www.distinctivepublishing.co.uk This publication is also available as an ebook at: www.issuu.com/distinctivepublishing

Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce 27 North Bridge Street, Hawick, TD9 9BD T: 07771 865 758 E: chairman@borderschamber.com www.borderschamber.com Chief Executive – Emily McGowan Chair – Lee-Anne Gillie West Lothian Chamber of Commerce Systems House, Alba Centre, Alba Business Park, Rosebank, Livingston, EH54 7EG T: 01506 414808 E: chamber@wlchamber.com www.wlchamber.com President - Billy MacLeod

Disclaimer

Distinctive Publishing or Scottish Chambers of Commerce cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies that may occur, individual products or services advertised or late entries. No part of this publication may be reproduced or scanned without prior written permission of the publishers and Scottish Chambers of Commerce.

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CHAMBER NETWORK NEWS

How to onboard new staff remotely We’re now seeing more of our clients learning how to onboard new staff remotely, and we’ve gone through this too in the last 5 months.

By Calum Anderson The HR Booth

I read an article last week that businesses with a good on-boarding process will improve new hire retention by 82%. It’s therefore vital that you get this right, even when doing so remotely.

Remote working or work from anywhere does open up the talent pool, but will you allow this to continue once restrictions are lifted? Not doing so will cause problems down the track.

It’s important you plan your recruitment and on-boarding process and we’re seeing a couple of clients really think about this as they plan to scale this year. Some good suggestions include a mentoring/buddy programme, and it’s important to think about the people you want in this role and offer support. These should be ambassadors for your business and really demonstrate your company values.

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The Interview Stage At the interview stage, can you involve team members who can talk more about the culture and this gives the candidate a better experience?

Communication during the first few weeks is vital. Use technology for company documents and this is something the mentor can support, and regular video calls (with camera on) will really help. Regular team meetings are also important – in our own team we do a daily huddle to try and catch up on key successes/challenges that day and our weekly meeting is a lot more in depth. When you’re in the same office you can pick up on conversations, so it’s important to try and replicate this as best you can.

You should also try and put yourself in your candidate’s or new starter’s shoes. How would you feel if you weren’t introduced or made to feel welcome? We’ve encouraged clients to send Welcome Cards or a small gift to new hires before they start, and we use this approach in our own business which I know the team appreciate.

If your new hire is on a long notice period before joining you, keep in touch. They might be apprehensive and wondering if they’ve done the right thing – keeping in touch resolves this and the Welcome Card reinforces they’ve done the right thing.

Remember to have all their equipment and IT set up before they start. There is nothing worse than on the first day this not working or kit available. It’s better to delay the start date by a few days and get this right.

And finally, seek feedback – ask what worked well and what could be improved next time. If you would like to learn how to onboard new staff remotely, contact us on our website now.

Why Choose Modern Office?

Your Office, Your Home, Your Future Choosing the right office furniture for your company is exciting and fun but it can also be a daunting exercise for any size business.

Modern Office offers many solutions to meet the requirements of your dream office layout. We offer a number of services, helping you to create the perfect space for your office, where employees can thrive.

We start by looking carefully at the overall picture, taking into account not only the design and creative needs of your organisation, but all the finer details too. Style and appearance, colour scheme, fabric and finish are all fundamental, but these days it is also imperative that your office furniture meets a detailed array of ergonomic and safety requirements.

With over a quarter of a century of experience in this field, Modern Office is the complete solution to all your business furnishing needs. Whether you are looking for stylish office chairs, practical office storage or an exquisite conference table, we are sure to have something for everyone.

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