Scottish Chambers of Commerce has welcomed today’s publication of the second phase report of the Scottish Government’s Enterprise and Skills Review.
However, it has called for close scrutiny of the new agency structure’s achievements over the coming years to ensure quick and effective progress. Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“The Scottish Chambers of Commerce network welcomes the publication of the Scottish Government’s Phase 2 report on its Enterprise and Skills Review. It is vital that the services that businesses receive from Scotland’s public sector are constantly evolving to meet their needs and to help business, and our economy, to grow.
“At a time when the Scottish economy is significantly underperforming that of the UK as a whole, this review has been timely, and this latest set of actions give us much more detail about how the new proposed structure will interface with businesses in practice.
“We welcome the creation of a South of Scotland Enterprise Agency, focused on the particular opportunities, challenges and needs of businesses in Dumfries & Galloway and in the Scottish Borders. We also welcome the strong role envisioned for the Scottish Chambers of Commerce network in terms of building the exporting potential of Scotland’s businesses – which will be an even stronger priority in the post-Brexit landscape.
“What we need to see now is exactly how the private sector can have a role to provide the leadership and guidance necessary to make these new structures work. The new framework must deliver real change for the better in a very short timescale and this must be monitored on a regular basis to ensure that there is material progress in supporting Scotland’s businesses and growing our economy.”
‘Women’s Business Mentoring’ launches nationwide today (1st June 2017) with some of the most recognisable and successful Scottish businesswomen leading the way.
This initiative brings together the connectivity and entrepreneurial spirit of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce Network, Women’s Enterprise Scotland and Scotland’s leading women entrepreneurs: Liz Cameron OBE of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, Carolyn Currie of Women’s Enterprise Scotland, Jeanette Forbes of PCL Group, Poonam Gupta OBE of PG Paper, Marie Macklin CBE of Macklin Partnerships and Petra Wetzel of WEST Brewery.
‘Women’s Business Mentoring’ will match mentors with mentees to create a self-supporting, collaborative community who understand the specific challenges faced by women in business, whether it is accessing finance, overcoming gender bias or managing family responsibilities alongside a business. A dedicated website will help prospective businesses find a mentor, attend events and access key resources. In addition, women in business can also sign up as mentors: www.womensbusinessmentoring.com
Commenting on the launch of Women’s Business Mentoring:
Carolyn Currie, Chief Operating Officer, Women’s Enterprise Scotland, said:
“Research shows that women seek out business advice in the form of mentoring and coaching rather than on a consultancy basis and we know there is a clear need for more business women as mentors, since mixed-sex mentoring relationships may not always be of benefit for everyone. Only 20% of Scottish SME’s are majority-led by women, yet we know that if women started businesses at the same rate as men, this would contribute an additional £7.6bn to Scotland’s economy. I am honoured to play a part in this inspiring initiative and I look forward to collaborating and creating a lasting impact for women in business.”
Liz Cameron OBE, Director & Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Our approach is innovative and fresh and is all about tapping into the talents and experience of successful women entrepreneurs and matching them with ambitious, driven and aspiring women in business. I am delighted to have Scotland’s most recognisable and talented business women on board, which reflects the strength of female talent in Scotland, but also our commitment to give back to Scotland, grow our economy and contribute to our local communities.”
Petra Wetzel, Entrepreneur & Chief Executive of West Brewery said:
“Anything that can connect women in business and enable growth in their business is good for Scotland and good for the economy. From my experience, having a Mentor in any aspect of your life can add immense value to personal development. I view mentoring as a valuable asset which can bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and insight to a business. I look forward to personally mentoring aspiring women in business and giving back to the business community.”
Poonam Gupta OBE, Chief Executive of PG Paper and recipient of Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Scottish SME Business Awards, said:
“Mentoring is all about collaboration, unlocking ideas and talents that an add value to your business and to your life. For many women in business, these talents and ideas can often be overlooked, holding them back and preventing contributions to our economy. That’s why this campaign is so appealing. It’s led by women in business and is for women in business. I have seen first-hand how a business mentor can bring new perspectives, new solutions and new techniques to overcoming challenges and enabling success, and I look forward to doing exactly that with Scotland’s next generation of women in business.”
The next UK Government will have a crucial task ahead in constructing an industrial strategy that will deliver for all of the UK and which will deliver the skills and talents that Scottish businesses need to succeed.
Calling for an integration of the strategy at a Scottish and UK level, Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“All of the political parties going into the General Election talk about a new Industrial Strategy as a key part of their economic agenda for the next Parliament. If this is pursued on a UK basis, then it is vital that it takes full account of the devolved settlement and that action is co-ordinated by the Scottish and UK Governments to ensure that Scottish firms can take full advantage of a national focus on the key drivers of business success.
“Our businesses need an environment that enables them to identify opportunities and respond to them in an agile manner. We need a national industrial strategy to set out measures to improve our infrastructure and connectivity, to widen our access to key skills and talents, to identify actions to incentivise and reward positive behaviours and to ensure that we have the most competitive environment to do business. However any UK strategy must recognise that many of those levers are under the control of the Scottish Government and therefore it must be fully engaged if Scottish businesses are to benefit from the strategy to the fullest extent.
“Getting our plans right for skills and talent must be a priority for the Industrial Strategy. Scotland and the UK continue to lag behind competitor nations in terms of our productivity and we need to restore a focus on ongoing work-based learning and re-skilling of older workers in order to ensure that our businesses have access to the talents they need to grow and succeed. This is particularly important, given the demographics of low unemployment and an aging workforce.
“Once this General Election has been decided, there exists a golden opportunity for the Scottish and UK Governments to co-ordinate their activity as never before, putting politics to one side and focusing on how to build the success of our businesses.”
With three weeks to go until the UK General Election, one of the most important issues for Scottish businesses will be the next Government’s approach to taxation. This week, Scottish Chambers of Commerce has called for the new administration’s first Budget to take decisive action to reduce key taxes to ease the burden of business costs and promote investment and growth. Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“With Scottish businesses facing the prospect of rising inflation and weak consumer demand, the threats to our economic growth, which lags behind that of the UK as a whole, are readily apparent. However, Government has the opportunity to develop policies which will help shape a more fruitful business environment where businesses are freed up to invest for new opportunities, future growth, and new jobs.
“One of the current challenges many businesses are facing is that of rising costs through higher prices and through government legislation on pensions, the National Living Wage and the Apprenticeship Levy. By tackling some of businesses’ fixed costs, this could help to free up valuable resources for business investment and job creation.
“That is why we believe that the UK Government must target reductions in business rates, rather than Corporation Tax, in order to produce the biggest boost to the largest number of businesses. Whilst this is a tax that is devolved to Scotland, clear strategic action on business rates in England would assist the Scottish Government in delivering long overdue restructuring of this tax north of the border.
“At a national level, a temporary reduction in the rate of VAT, last implemented in 2008-09, may also be a useful tool to tackle rising costs, whilst at the same time encouraging a boost in consumer demand, which has been the major driver of growth in the Scottish economy. In addition, the permanent reduction in VAT to 5% for tourism and hospitality activities would bring the UK into line with the vast majority of other European nations and deliver a timely boost in competitiveness to one of our most important and iconic sectors.
“A closer and more productive working relationship between the UK and Scottish Governments could also make possible co-ordinated action between reserved and devolved activities, for example to incentivise and reward in-work training through the National Insurance Contribution system. Scotland may have two Governments but they must work together more effectively to deliver the right results for business.”
Today’s release of labour market data has shown some very good news from a Scottish perspective, with unemployment falling by 14,000 and employment growing by 5,000 in the three months to March this year. Scottish Chambers of Commerce have welcomed the figures but have warned against complacency and renewed their call for Scotland’s Governments in Edinburgh and in London to work together to put business at the top of their agendas. Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“These latest figures for employment and unemployment are very positive, with unemployment falling and employment growing. This confirms the positive trends in recruitment that we have been picking up through our own research and demonstrates that Scotland’s businesses are ambitious to succeed. It is a timely reminder that they are the creators of Scotland’s jobs and wealth.
“Scotland’s businesses are working hard against some pretty strong economic headwinds right now and are continuing to seek the talents that they need to succeed, both by recruiting new staff and through upskilling existing workers. They must be supported to do so, with a particular emphasis on ensuring that the supply of skills meets business demand and that we are equipping more people with these talents, including workers of all ages and those who have been unemployed for an extended period.
“This demonstrates why a coherent industrial strategy for the UK is necessary and why this must be fully supported by both the UK and Scottish Governments. Scottish businesses are competing on a global basis and need the co-ordinated support of all levels of Government to give them the edge to enable business to create high quality employment opportunities for all.”
New alliances open up new opportunities for Edinburgh companies
Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce has participated in one of the first network-wide overseas trade missions to China, led by a delegation of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
Chief Executive, Liz McAreavey joined senior representatives and business people from Aberdeen, Ayrshire, Dundee & Angus, Glasgow, and West Lothian. The mission explored new trading opportunities and links with business, education and government organisations.
As part of the programme, Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) announced the official opening of a new International Trade Office in the city of Yantai. The formal opening ceremony was hosted by the Vice Mayor of Yantai city, Madame Zhang Bo, together with senior officials from Yantai Municipal Government.
As part of the event, both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding for trade engagement and partnership, designed to achieve an effective channel for exchange of business between Scotland and Yantai.
During the trade visit, Edinburgh Chamber participated in a series of productive meetings with senior business people, highly influential politicians including Vice Governor Wang Shujian, and local government officials as well as national ‘think tanks’ bodies in Beijing, Yantai and Jinan in the Shandong Province
Chief Executive, Liz McAreavey commented: “The Chinese economy continues to grow at a faster pace than western economies and the rate of growth within new cities such as Yantai and Jinan opens up the potential for Edinburgh businesses to promote and sell its goods and services which Chinese businesses and consumers want and need. That demand, together with a more recent policy of ‘opening up’ to new trading partners and overseas alliances by the Chinese, presents a myriad of opportunities for our local businesses to capitalise on.
“The aim of our mission was to strengthen relationships and increase engagement with existing and new contacts in sectors where there are direct B2B or knowledge-sharing opportunities for Edinburgh companies. Yantai is a city of 7 million and SCC’s base in Yantai will enable us to plan a comprehensive approach to exploiting the many opportunities in Yantai and further afield for our members and non-members.”
Shandong Province represents the third largest economy in China with a population of over 97 million and a GDP in excess of 6.3 trillion yuan (£0.7 trillion). It is China’s best wine growing region accounting for over 25% of all wine production. Yantai is the biggest trading port in North China and in 2016, the city imported over $19 billion (£14.7 billion) of goods and services.
Chief Executive, Liz McAreavey also visited the city of Jinan, which is home to one of the first national high-tech business incubators and since its foundation in 2002, it has incubated more than 1,000 small and medium sized science and technology enterprises. It focuses on cultivating fast-growing sectors such as biomedicine, ecommerce, energy, environmental protection and new materials.
Key sectors for Edinburgh Chamber based companies to meet key economic needs in the Chinese target cities include: electronic information, robotics and artificial intelligence, bioscience, R &D and smart technologies, food and drink and even football management.
The accelerated growth of consumers in Shandong province also opens opportunities in consumer goods, recreation and tourism services, financial and professional services and education.
Chief Executive, SCC, Liz Cameron said: “We now have a deeper understanding of how we can achieve the best exchange for business, where the opportunities exist for Scottish organisations and how we can best pursue these.
“We have also identified a number of potential opportunities for inward investment into Scotland and will be working with Scottish Government and SDI as well as other trade organisations to explore these and leverage the momentum of change within China.
SCC intends to return to Shandong Province later this year to conclude discussions on further Memorandums of Understanding and explore new ways to foster co-operation between the two countries.
Today’s news that inflation has jumped to 2.7% has confirmed long-held expectations and highlighted growing concerns over the capacity for businesses to contain rising costs and the potential threat to consumer demand, as disposable incomes become squeezed. Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Whilst part of the reason for this latest increase in inflation might be due to the timing of Easter and the consequent impact on the cost of flying, the fact remains that there are continued upward pressures on prices from a range of sources and the Bank of England last week said that it expected inflation to continue upwards to almost 3% later in the year.
“The impact on Scottish business and the Scottish economy is two-fold. Rising prices impact on businesses’ costs and their ability to invest and create jobs, whilst weakening real incomes could depress consumer spending, which has been the strongest driver of economic growth in Scotland over the past few years.
“These challenges, coupled with ongoing political uncertainty represent a risk for the Scottish economy, which our politicians must respond to. With a General Election campaign in full swing, politicians of all parties must remember that it is Scotland’s businesses that are the creators of jobs, wealth and growth in our economy, and businesses will be examining the various Parties’ plans to address this situation with keen interest.”
New alliances created with key developing cities in China as part of trade visit
Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) has announced the official opening of a new International Trade Office in the city of Yantai, China, as part of a trade mission by a Chambers’ delegation to explore new trading opportunities and links with business, education and government organisations.
The formal opening ceremony was hosted by the Vice Mayor Madame Zhang Bo, together with senior officials from Yantai Municipal Government. Both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding for trade engagement and partnership, designed to achieve an effective channel for exchange of business between Scotland and Yantai.
The Scottish delegation, led by SCC’s new President, Tim Allan and CEO Liz Cameron, comprised Presidents and CEOs from Chambers throughout Scotland: Aberdeen, Ayrshire, Dundee & Angus, Glasgow, Edinburgh and West Lothian. They were accompanied by senior business executives, including entrepreneur David Valentine of Valentine International, and former SCC Chair Nora Senior, UK Chair of international PR company Weber Shandwick, who have had a presence working in China for over 25 years.
During the trade visit, which was six months in the planning, SCC held a series of productive meetings with senior business people, highly influential politicians and local government officials including Vice Governor Wang Shujian, as well as national ‘think tanks’ bodies in Beijing, Yantai and Jinan in the Shandong Province
President Tim Allan commented: “The Chinese economy continues to grow at a faster pace than western economies and the rate of growth within new cities such as Yantai and Jinan opens up the potential for Scottish businesses to promote and sell goods and services which Chinese businesses Chinese businesses and consumers want and need. That demand, together with a more recent policy of ‘opening up’ to new trading partners and overseas alliances by the Chinese, presents a myriad of opportunities for Scottish businesses to capitalise on.
“The aim of our mission was to strengthen relationships and increase engagement with existing and new contacts in sectors where there are direct B2B or knowledge-share opportunities for Scottish companies. Yantai is a city of 7 million and SCC’s base in Yantai will enable us to plan a comprehensive approach to exploiting the many opportunities in Yantai and further afield.”
Shandong Province represents the third largest economy in China with a population of over 97 million and a GDP in excess of 6.3 trillion yuan (£0.7 trillion). It is China’s best wine growing region accounting for over 25% of all wine production. Yantai is the biggest trading port in North China and in 2016, the city imported over $19 billion (£14.7 billion) of goods and services.
The city of Jinan is home to one of the first national high-tech business incubators and since its foundation in 2002, it has incubated more than 1,000 small and medium sized science and technology enterprises. It focuses on cultivating fast-growing sectors such as biomedicine, ecommerce, energy, environmental protection and new materials.
Key sectors for Scottish interest to meet key economic needs in the Chinese target cities include: electronic information, robotics and artificial intelligence, pharmaceutical, bioscience, R &D, manufacturing, engineering and smart technologies, energy including upstream and downstream products and services, logistics, agriculture, food and drink, and indeed football management.
The accelerated growth of consumers in Shandong province also opens opportunities in consumer goods, recreation and tourism services, financial and professional services and education.
Chief Executive, SCC, Liz Cameron OBE said: “This exploratory visit is part of the new partnership which was formed between Scottish business, through our extensive Chamber network, and the Scottish Government to utilise the world-wide connectivity of the business community. We now have a deeper understanding of how we can achieve the best exchange for business, where the opportunities exist for Scottish organisations and how we can best pursue these.
“We have also identified several potential opportunities for inward investment into Scotland and will be working with Scottish Government and SDI as well as other trade organisations to explore these and leverage the momentum of change within China.
“Our next steps will be to undertake a deep dive of companies based in Scotland who have products, skills and expertise which have the potential to be exported to the Shandong Province area. Our aim is to add impetus to the Scottish economy by assisting companies who have not previously thought about exporting to grasp the potential that international trade offers.
“The new more open trading environment in fast growing cities such as Yantai, Jinan and the wider Shandong Province, together with the practical advice and direct B2B links Chambers now have within this market, will facilitate more effective trading partnership opportunities for Scottish businesses and educational institutions.”
SCC intends to return to Shandong Province later this year to conclude discussions on further Memorandums of Understanding and explore new ways to foster co-operation between the two countries.
Chambers in Scotland have already led trade missions to Italy, Iceland, Iran, Germany and the US, with further country visits planned this year to a number of key destinations.
The Bank of England is expecting three further years of above-target inflation in the UK, whilst GDP growth projections this year are down marginally this year to 1.9% but up slightly to 1.7% and 1.8% in each of the next two years.
Commenting, Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“There are twin challenges facing our economy at the moment in the shape of rising prices resulting from the fall in the value of sterling and weak consumer demand due to low real income growth, putting upward pressure on inflation and downward pressure on economic growth respectively. In addition, many businesses are experiencing a rise in their costs, putting upward pressure on prices and threatening their capacity to boost investment.
“We will be looking for next month’s General Election, whatever its outcome, to deliver greater clarity and stability. The next UK Government must act quickly to set out its agenda for Brexit, enhancing market confidence, and taking early action to tackle core business costs. Targeted tax reductions could play a key role here and help provide the boost that would stimulate improved levels of investment and new employment opportunities.”
