Commenting on the Queen’s Speech, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said:

“While Brexit isn’t the top immediate priority for many businesses, firms of every size and shape want to avoid turbulence and confusion during the Brexit transition. The government’s proposed bills on trade, customs and immigration must minimise adjustment costs and maximise opportunities. Achieving this will require continuous and constructive engagement with business communities across the UK.

“Importantly, many of the real, practical priorities for businesses across the UK can be delivered without new primary legislation. Ministers must inject real momentum and pace into the major infrastructure schemes that have already been agreed and announced. They must cut back on the stifling up-front costs that deter investment and risk-taking, and press ahead with an Industrial Strategy that helps places across the UK achieve their potential. This is an important moment for ministers to show that they are doing their day job, and delivering a stronger environment for growth here at home.

“Businesses want to see a workable government going about its day job, and clear signals that the economy is once again front and centre in political life. Consensus and a strong partnership between government and business will be critical at a time of significant change.”

On the Customs Bill:

“Chambers of Commerce facilitate tens of billions of pounds worth of UK trade across borders every year. We stand ready to work with the government to develop a UK customs system that supports free-flowing trade between UK firms and their customers and suppliers around the world. It is crucial that business and government work together, as well, to ensure that a new UK customs code underpins seamless trade between the UK and the continent in the years to come.”

On Immigration Bill:

“The needs of the economy must be at the heart of this once-in-a-generation overhaul of the UK’s immigration system. While businesses accept the need for controls over migration flows, they want clear assurances that they will be able to recruit from overseas to fill vacancies when they are unable to find or train suitable candidates here at home.

“After Brexit, they will also want to see a flexible system for the movement of labour and skills between the UK and the EU that enjoys clear public support. This is also a major opportunity to simplify the Home Office’s bureaucratic processes, which impose heavy costs and great uncertainty on businesses and individuals alike.”

On the Trade Bill:

“Safeguarding and retaining the favourable terms of trade that UK businesses have enjoyed under EU free trade agreements negotiated by the EU over the past four decades must be a top priority for ministers as the UK develops its own trade policy. The firms we represent say that confirming existing levels of market access is a bigger immediate priority than launching new free trade negotiations with new countries and markets around the world. They also need ground-level trade promotion and support to take advantage of the opportunities that new trade agreements may create in future.”

On the Great Repeal Bill:

“At a time of change, businesses want as much short-term certainty and stability as possible on their regulatory obligations. This bill must deliver continuity and the day-one equivalence that is necessary for businesses to continue to trade seamlessly with customers and suppliers, both in Europe and across the world.”

On the HS2 Phase 2A Bill:

“We welcome the government’s commitment to legislate for the second phase of HS2, which will extend the benefits of the line to many more business communities. However, we will continue to press for the completion of a full national network – and to ensure that other key road and rail priorities, both small and large, are fully funded and executed throughout the UK. We need to have the fundamentals right here at home, including infrastructure, to trade successfully in the future regardless of the eventual Brexit deal.”

“You may have a new career Hampus!” exclaims the photographer, while Hampus Hansson, a 3rd year Civil Engineering student from Luleå, Sweden, shifts awkwardly in his chair as the camera lens brings him back into sharp focus.

Hampus is posing for photographs in the Glasgow office reception of CH2M Hill, one of the world’s largest engineering firms, and is sat aside, appropriately, a giant Scottish thistle made entirely of Scandinavian spruce trees. Hampus is nearing the end of an internship provided by IAESTE UK (the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience), and is effusive in his endorsement of the programme, which exchanges placements in Scotland for international students with those for Scottish students overseas.

In late 2015 CH2M tasked IAESTE UK and our colleagues in Norway and Sweden with identifying ten high quality civil engineering and project management interns to undertake placements in their Glasgow office, with a view to their leading the development of new Scandinavian offices for the company in the coming year. Hampus is part of this group, and began a one-year internship at CH2M Glasgow in June 2016. After completing his induction training, Hampus has developed his experience and knowledge within the company, working across multiple teams including Highways, Asset Management and Human Resources.

Hampus has enjoyed leading on several projects, including a Transport Scotland initiative comparing road safety practice in Scotland and Scandinavia. Nicola Vemmie, Senior Asset Management Consultant at CH2M, and Hampus’ internship supervisor is delighted with his work, emphasising the value of his hard work and technical knowledge, as well as that of his language skills in helping with both the Transport Scotland project, and in representing the company at trade fairs in Sweden over the past year. Hampus meanwhile is hugely enthusiastic about the experience and future career opportunities the internship has provided, identifying the scale of the company, which led on much of the construction for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, including the Emirates Arena, and the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, and subsequent opportunities to work with colleagues across the UK, notably in London, Birmingham and Bristol, as major benefits. He stresses however, that he has enjoyed the entire experience, feeling valued and trusted from his first day. Hampus will return to his studies to complete his degree this autumn, after which he hopes to return to work for CH2M in Sweden, helping to grow the company’s footprint in what is one of their key development markets. “It’s been a life changing experience”, he admits, adding “I feel better equipped to begin my career after graduation following this experience, and the opportunities I’ve been given have definitely focussed my career motivations. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in Glasgow too, it’s a special city.”

Would your company benefit from an international intern? Whether you’re working in new export markets and seeking language and business culture expertise, would like to internationalise your work force or simply want to work with some of the best young international talent, the IAESTE programme can help. Our reciprocal programme places the best science, technology and applied arts trainees from across a 92-country network in your business, and for each position offered in Scotland, a student from a Scottish university is offered the same opportunity overseas. Help your own business, and at the same time broaden the global outlook of Scotland’s graduates. Interested?

Get in touch with Doug Watters, Project Manager IAESTE at doug.watters@britishcouncil.org, 0131 524 5765

On 20 and 21 June in Edinburgh, the British Standards Institution (BSI) is hosting the Annual Meetings of the European standards organisations CEN and CENELEC, bringing together senior representatives from all 34 European national standards bodies, as well as other leading international figures from the community, including the International Standards Organisations – ISO and IEC. This is the first time that the UK has hosted this event since 2002.

These formal meetings are then going to be followed on Thursday 22 June by an Open Day called ‘Standards Matter’, intended to be a day of exhibitions, talks and debates on the future of standardisation and the importance of standards in our changing world. The event will be held at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in the centre of Edinburgh in the first floor conference area.

During the day, BSI hope to introduce leaders from the UK, European and international standards communities to local industrialists, innovators and entrepreneurs to debate the role of standards in accelerating innovation and to answer questions on how the national, European and international systems can help industry achieve its goals.

The audience will include senior executives from the leading European national standards bodies; the President, President Elect and new Secretary General of ISO; senior representatives from other international standards bodies; officials from the European Commission; UK Government representatives; BSI technical committee members and representatives from industry, local government and NGOs.

‘Standards Matter’ will be based around four main themes:

1. Standards supporting global growth: Standards and international trade and Smarter regulation
2. Innovation in a digital world: Autonomy and transport in a fully connected world
3. Future of standards development: The future of collaboration, New ways of working, developing and sharing content in a digital world,
4. Our future society: The circular economy, BS 8001 – Framework for implementing circular economy principles in organizations, Approaches to the circular city, Progress towards UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Building trust in a digital world.

The full agenda is be available on the BSI website: www.bsigroup.com/standards-matter-17

The event will highlight the role that voluntary business standards can be used by business to facilitate international trade, improve business performance, support innovation and promote quality and environmental and risk management.

Commenting on the Labour Party Manifesto, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“High personal taxation, sweeping nationalisation and deep intervention in business decision-making are not the hallmarks of an ambitious and enterprising society. Taken together, some of the headline propositions in the Labour Party manifesto will give business communities across the UK real cause for concern.

“There are some bright spots in Labour’s manifesto, notably clear and specific commitments to reform Britain’s broken business rates system, which successive governments have failed to implement. The party is right to propose an immediate guarantee for EU nationals currently in the UK, which is a top priority for the many thousands of firms that employ them, as well as more flexibility for businesses to use the apprenticeship levy to train people here at home. Labour’s proposals to strengthen and ring-fence practical international trade support for SMEs deserve careful consideration.

“While Labour are making some specific and targeted propositions that could boost the growth prospects of small- and medium-sized firms, these will be largely eclipsed by their proposals for higher personal and business taxes in the eyes of business leaders around the UK.”

Commenting on the trade statistics for March 2017, released today by the ONS, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“The sharp deterioration in the UK’s net trade position means that trade is likely to have been a drag on UK growth in the first quarter of the year, following a strong performance in the previous quarter. This deterioration reflects a sharp rise in imports in the quarter, and a slight fall in exports.

“While many exporters are benefiting from improving growth outlooks in key trading markets, and the weaker pound is helping to make them more price competitive, our Quarterly Economic Survey shows businesses under pressure from the rising costs of raw materials. The widening in the UK’s trade deficit, and weakening output from the industrial and construction sectors, is further evidence that we are still a long way from achieving a rebalancing of our economy.

“As the UK moves through the Brexit process and beyond, it is vital that more is done to provide greater practical assistance for exporters, including developing an expanded trade mission and fairs programme and funding front-line, face-to-face support for exporters to help get UK businesses trading with the world.”