Trudy Morris: The impact of Covid-19 on the Young Workforce

Trudy Morris, Chief Executive of Caithness Chamber of Commerce.

It’s late November, and thankfully COVID-19 no longer threatens to cast a shadow over festive celebrations as in previous years. But the lasting impact of the pandemic and its impact on our young people and indeed our young workforce is still something we are yet to fathom the full impact of.

During the peak of the pandemic youth unemployment in Scotland soared to 14.2% in Q3 of 2020[1] and the youth labour market shrank, as key sectors employing young people – tourism, hospitality, retail, leisure and entertainment – were hit with lockdowns and government restrictions. This led to a disproportionate number of young people in the 16-24 age group facing employment losses due to furlough, job losses and reduction in hours. This burden, coupled with social isolation, school and further education closures, missed experiences and loss of pivotal opportunities has led to significant and ongoing disadvantages for our younger generations, leaving many ill-prepared for the world of work through no fault of their own.

The COVID-19 crisis was unprecedented because it transcended all aspects of life. While we strove for a recovery, a slow steady process of finding a new normal, grieving and rebuilding, many people across professions and sectors struggled with the resilience required to ‘bounce back’. For our young people, at the cusp of adulthood and still finding their way in the world this task was, and still is enormous.

According to a YoungMinds survey 67%[2] of young people aged 13-25 years old believed that the pandemic would have a long-term negative effect on their mental health. Our own survey of North Highland pupils for the Focus North Conference[3], also highlighted our young people were struggling. In response to a question regarding personal skills to help prepare for the future, alarmingly 59.4% said confidence, 43.8% said stress or anxiety management and 38.8% motivation.

We are encouraging employers to be considerate of the challenges our young people are facing and understanding of the skills gaps and inexperience. Young people need to be empowered with the knowledge and tools in order to flourish independently, and we all have a part to play in ensuring this happens.

Developing Young Workforce (DYW) North Highland, led by Caithness Chamber of Commerce, has since 2015 played a significant role in ensuring young people have a work-relevant education experience. We have school coordinators embedded across all of the high schools in the North Highlands and we work in partnership with local employers to help shape their future workforce and deliver the Young Person’s Guarantee (YPG), which aims to connect every 16 to 24 year-olds in Scotland to an opportunity. The YPG Pledge is for all employers. In November DYW launched a simpler way for employers to show their support to young people through the Young Person’s Guarantee Pledge. The updated process includes businesses sharing their experiences and advocating on behalf of DYW and the YPG to help increase pledges and opportunities for young people. This could involve offering work placements and mock interviews, industry insights and awareness sessions, apprenticeships or simply promoting the Young Person’s Guarantee within business networks and supply chain and taking part in social media campaigns and DYW events.

We are incredibly grateful to have the support of so many fantastic employers across the North Highlands, committed to inspiring confidence, enabling relevant employability skills and supporting access to the workplace for young people in our region. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the businesses and employers who have engaged with DYW on our programme including skills sessions, career events, work placements, CV and mock interviews, workplace visits, mentoring and much more. The DYW North Highland team provide a vital link in strengthening partnerships between businesses and education providers and there are always plenty of opportunities to get involved, so if you haven’t already but want to find out more, just get in touch with us!

www.dywnh.scot

View from the board. Jennifer Simpson, Director, BBM Solicitors Ltd

At BBM we’re very committed to developing young people in the North Highlands and giving them the opportunity to explore law as a career.

There is a strong STEM focus in our region, which is fantastic, but we need to show our young people the breadth of opportunity available to them. That’s why we created a prize in Wick High School for the pupil who performs best in English and Social Subjects, and the winner also has the opportunity to join us for invaluable work experience with our solicitors in our Wick Office.

Real-world experiences are instrumental in inspiring our future generations and their future careers. We offer a range of work experience opportunities for students interested in studying law and summer placements for those already at university. We engage with young people throughout the school year by attending relevant career events, and assisting with several of the DYW North Highland initiatives such as delivering workshops with pupils keen to study law and supporting mock interviews. We have also provided informal mentoring for young people who have gone to study law to support their development and career choices as they progress through their studies.

We love to recruit locally whenever we can and keep great talent living in Caithness and serving their local communities. We have two qualified solicitors in our team who studied at Wick High School and joined us for several summer placements throughout university, completed their legal traineeships with us and then found their chosen specialisms at BBM.

We are committed to nurturing our talent.  Within the BBM team we have a former Wick High School Student who started with us in an office junior role and is now completing her studies to become a Conveyancing Paralegal.

DYW North Highland has been invaluable in helping develop some of the key transferable skills that help young people when they are taking their first steps into the office environment such as confidence, interviewing and presentation skills, but also core skills like how to answer the phone or use Microsoft Office which is something they don’t get the opportunity to do in the school environment. This helps push them ahead when it comes to gaining the confidence to help them succeed.

It is our responsibility as employers to help pave the way for our future workforce and there really is something every employer can do to support young people to thrive in the workplace. The impacts are far-reaching, and engaging with young people can bring all sorts of benefits to your business including growing your workforce, increased competitiveness, and meeting skills gaps.

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/350464/scottish-rate-of-youth-unemployment/#:~:text=As%20of%20the%202nd%20quarter,percent%20in%20the%20previous%20quarter.

[2] https://www.youngminds.org.uk/media/esifqn3z/youngminds-coronavirus-report-jan-2021.pdf

[3] https://www.focusnorth.scot/wp-content/uploads/Focus-North-Opening-Presentation.pdf

November’s Executive Magazine is out now and we are delighted Caithness Chamber of Commerce Newsletter returns for its final outing of 2023 – jam-packed with the latest business news from our members across the North Highlands!

 

Download File

Meet John Baikie, multi-award-winning photographer and filmmaker whose accomplished career has taken him across the world, shooting in breathtaking locations and working alongside premium brands; capturing people and telling their narratives through his own unique visual lens.

With his heart rooted in his North Highland home, John Baikie, the Caithnesian creative has brought his focus back towards his roots, returning his attention to helping to promote businesses and success stories in the North Highland region. With an ever-increasing move towards video in marketing and visual storytelling, John’s perspective, lived experiences and in-depth local knowledge of the North Highlands help offer a new approach to documentary storytelling in the commercial world.

What is your speciality or niche within the industry?

Spending my life in the North Highlands has given me inspiration to be creative. The landscapes and people here are very special. There are so many stories out there which need to be told, and I think, there is a trend in the Highlands to underplay success. So many businesses and people in the region are doing amazing things, often taken for granted or played down. I have worked on some projects which nobody knows about, yet we are talking about groundbreaking stuff. This is where I come in. My passion is for telling stories, be that through moving or still images, or sometimes both. I love to create documentary-style films, and they can show the personality and ethos of a business.

How do you stay updated with the latest trends and technologies in your field?

I was entirely self-taught as a photographer, beginning my creative career in 1997, but I was eager to learn and travelled the UK and overseas attending seminars and workshops to improve my skills. My filmmaking started in a similar vein, but I recently completed a four-year BA honours degree with UHI and am currently working through a Master’s in filmmaking. This has really helped me to progress at a much faster rate. I have a passion for learning and constantly push to be better at what I do. I have also completed drone training courses and can commercially fly these, which is another great perspective to add to films. In this industry, it is important to constantly invest in training and equipment.

How do you approach pricing and packaging your services?

One thing I do which has been popular is to offer ongoing packages, where businesses can save money on creating content by booking for monthly or bi-monthly sessions. It takes a lot of pressure off businesses knowing they have high-quality content being created without too much involvement. I like to think my film production is very competitively priced and will come up with bespoke solutions to suit all budgets.

Can you describe your workflow from initial client contact to project delivery?

The filmmaking/video production side of the business is very bespoke. I work extensively with clients on the pre-production elements, to ensure we are on the same page, and to ensure the video production is a smooth process. This usually involves creating a brief and laying out a very specific plan. Quality and customer satisfaction are hugely important to me. It is great to build up a working relationship with clients, where you begin to really understand each other, and feel part of that business and truly invested in their progress.

What’s ahead for your business and career?

My MA in filmmaking will bring a whole new level of skills and knowledge to the business and increase the production value of every project. The goal is to spend my time showcasing Caithness and the North Highlands; and build up a body of work showcasing the area, the place, the people, and the inspiring stories which I come across almost daily. I am passionate about documentary films and have a few personal projects which are ticking along in the background too.

johnbaikie.co.uk

 

This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition builds on the previous Engineering Biology Phase 1 Competition launched in 2022. We are seeking new proposals that solve a range of Defence and Security challenges and enhance capability by applying engineering biology approaches. The Phase 1 Engineering Biology Competition demonstrated the potential of the technology (you can follow the links to the previously funded projects in “Synthetic biology for novel materials” Phase 1 and Phase 2 and Engineering Biology Phase 1). We are now expanding to further develop applications which identify and evaluate innovative engineering biology approaches to improve wider Defence and Security capability.

High-risk high-reward approaches are encouraged. However, there should be a plan to take the work to at least Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4  for ‘Materials’ proposals, and at least TRL3 for both ‘Power and Energy’ and ‘Sensing’ proposals by the end of the end of Phase 2.

This competition is funded by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and may also involve the US Department of Defense (DoD). The relationship will operate under, and be governed by, an extant memorandum of understanding between both nations. Both the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and other UK Government departments, and the US Department of Defense (DoD), will have access to proposals submitted under this competition in order to jointly assess which proposals to fund.

Submission deadline

Midday (GMT) Wednesday 17 January 2024.

Where do I submit my proposal?

Via the DASA Online Submission Service for which you will require an account. Only proposals submitted through the DASA Online Submission Service will be accepted.

Total funding available

The total funding available for the whole Phase 2 of the competition is £500k (ex VAT). This funding will be awarded for up to 12 months.  Proposals must include a clear plan to complete the work by no later than 31 March 2025.  There is no upper-limit per proposal for this competition, but as a guide, we are expecting to fund around 3-5 proposals in Phase 2.  Additional proposals may be funded if further funding becomes available for up to 12 months.

Find out more by visiting here.

Scottish Chamber of Commerce, Quarterly Economic Indictor Q3 2023 Reports: High interest rates preventing interest in Scottish economy.

• Interest rates fear rising: Concern over interest rates has seen a significant increase over the quarter, rising from 37% of firms in the last quarter to half of firms, which is a five-year survey high.
• Inflationary concerns easing: Concern over inflation remains high among all firms but has eased generally over the quarter down to 70% from 75% in the last quarter.
• Price rises easing slightly: Less firms are indicating that they will raise prices this quarter compared to last, with just under half of firms (48%) saying they will raise prices compared to 55% last quarter.
• Investment flatlining: While more firms continue to report rises in investment than falls on balance, over half (55%) have reported no changes to total investment, which is a five-year survey high.
• Training investment also flatlining: Over half of firms (57%) have also reported no changes to training investment levels, this is another five-year survey high.

Stephen Leckie, President of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce said:

“These results indicate challenging trading conditions for firms, with inflation, interest rates, and labour shortages preventing growth and delaying investment. For too many businesses, the priority is firmly stuck on survival.

“Whilst business confidence is starting to pick up from the low levels of 2022, this renewed optimism is not translating into sustained performance and output from firms necessary to get our economy firing again.

“If Scotland is to maintain its competitiveness domestically and internationally, direction and impetus is needed from government north and south of the border in upcoming budget statements. These must outline clear steps to support business which instil confidence for investment and help stimulate growth.”

On inflation and interest rates:

“Our data shows that firms are becoming more concerned of rises in interest rates, which are designed to suppress consumer spend and make borrowing more expensive, both of which significantly impact firms.

“Looking ahead, we would urge the Bank of England to provide clarity on the future direction of interest rates or begin to allow time for the lag between rate hikes and the full effect on spending to be fully observed, so that there is less risk of causing unnecessary economic damage.”

On investment:

“Scottish firms and indeed firms across the UK are actively pausing investment decisions.

“Businesses urgently require upcoming fiscal events to provide some respite for those struggling to survive and incentives for those looking to expand.

“To that end, we urge the Scottish Government to use the progress made through the New Deal for Business to demonstrate that it can listen to business and take action that will support growth, such as maintaining a fair personal taxation regime, reviewing non-domestic rates, and reducing regulation.”

On the upcoming Autumn Statement:

“Scottish firms will be looking to the upcoming Autumn Statement for the UK Government to play its part in unlocking investment. Pro-business measures are urgently needed. For example, reinstating the reduction in VAT for hospitality and tourism, putting in place a five-year rolling guarantee on the full expensing tax allowance, and removing the 10% tax hike on Scotch Whisky now in effect as announced in the Spring Budget.”

On the labour market:

“While recruitment difficulties have broadly stabilised for firms, they are still significant and labour continues to be the leading source of cost pressures as a result of wage settlements and pressures.

“These challenges demonstrate the importance of further measures to support firms recruiting and help people back into work.

“Policymakers must do more to help businesses invest to tackle the skills crisis and, at the same time, find ways to ease sectoral labour supply pinch points, through training programmes and opening up the immigration system to plug the gaps in the workforce.”

Download File

View from the Board. Stephen Sutherland, Chairman of Caithness Chamber of Commerce & Director JGC Engineering and Technical Services.

Connectivity is vital for north Highlands to prosper.

At the beginning of this month, we held our Annual General Meeting reflecting on the activity of the Chamber during the past year.  For the first time we were in the Royal Thurso Hotel and several of our members, myself included, reminisced on many happy times there in days gone by, and we were delighted to be back.  There was a warm welcome from the General Manager and staff, and it was refreshing to hear of forthcoming plans and upgrades to the hotel.

As we settle into Autumn, with its stretched shadows and crisp embrace, the year too reaches its final stretch. The changing seasons mirror our own need to evaluate and adapt, and at our AGM we reflected earnestly on the extremely challenging and increasingly harsh business environment.

Despite the challenging political landscape, we have never shied away from raising the issues that matter most to our business community to decision-makers in Holyrood and Westminster either directly or working with our Scottish Chambers of Commerce colleagues. We challenged government over ill-thought-out and burdensome regulations such as the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and alcohol advertising restrictions; and we have continued to champion the Wick/Aberdeen PSO, for which we fought so hard.

At our Annual Dinner in September, a keynote address given by Dr Liz Cameron CBE, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, again praised the creativity and resilience of the North Highland businesses community. The speech echoed concerns felt across our region, with threats to connectivity and failures to harness the vast economic potential voiced loudly.

Looking ahead, our membership remains our priority and as a Chamber community, we will continue our commitment to face rising challenges head-on, advocating for the North Highland business community.

We are continually grateful for the support of our membership as we close off another Annual Review and you can rest assured, we will not rest on our laurels, despite the challenges we all face.

We are a resilient business community and as our strapline says we are stronger together.

Trudy Morris, Chief Executive of Caithness Chamber of Commerce.

Working together gives voice to our region.

Reflecting on the past 12 months, it is clear we have experienced an extremely challenging and increasingly harsh business environment. The damaging legacy of the pandemic, coupled with the cost-of-living crisis, spiralling interest rates, material, labour and energy costs, alongside the increased cost of debt, mean many businesses are fighting to stand still amid significant and ongoing economic uncertainty.

Resilience is again the reigning theme when we look at how our members have dealt with the multitude of challenges we have encountered in this past year, a testament indeed to the extraordinary dedication, ingenuity, and resourcefulness of our business community. We have learnt that we are stronger when we work together and that’s particularly important for a business membership and economic landscape as diverse as our own.

Centred at the heart of the North Highland business community, Caithness Chamber of Commerce is here to support businesses at all stages of their journey.

It had been a busy year during 2022/23 for the Caithness Chamber, we were delighted that our membership continued to grow, and we now represent and support over 226 businesses across all sizes and sectors.

In August 2022 we were delighted to welcome two new Diamond Premier Partners, West of Orkney Windfarm and Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm. We have been working closely with each over this past year to forge early supply chain engagement to help maximise opportunities locally and prepare for these transformational projects which will inform investment in our future skills, economy and infrastructure.

We added to our exemplary fund management portfolio with the appointment of the Chamber as Fund Administrator for the Caithness and North Sutherland Fund (CNSF).  Contracts like this help to sustain the Chamber and allow us to deliver more for the business community.

Entrepreneurship and business support were also at the forefront of our activities. I was delighted to support Thurso High School Young Enterprise Team “Social-Eyes” whose creativity and innovation secured them a spot in the UK Finals with their scavenger hunt bingo game.

We also continued to deliver a diverse portfolio of support to businesses through our business support and mentoring programme funded by Dounreay, advising on topics such as funding applications, marketing and tendering.  It was encouraging and positive to see businesses invest in apprenticeships during the year with the support of the Caithness Business Fund.  A significant commitment to invest in the future and the next generation.  As we moved into a new financial year in June, we have seen this trend continue.

Lobbying and campaigning remain a key aspect of the Chamber, being the ‘Voice’ of business in the reported year was no different.

Connectivity is a major factor in securing economic growth, attracting new opportunities, and employment and sustaining flourishing communities for our region and future generations.

With no proposed major investments in our roads or rail infrastructure on the horizon which offer meaningful reduction in journey times in the short to medium term, or alternative solutions which connect our region physically to markets and opportunities, our airport is an essential component to keeping us connected. With funding from government for the PSO from Wick at serious risk, we find ourselves again lobbying and campaigning to secure a vital piece of infrastructure.

However, despite the challenges, it has been a rewarding year. It has been a great privilege to work alongside our members to ensure the voice of the North Highland business community is heard and I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of our members.

Read the Caithness Chamber Annual Review 2022 / 23

Download File

The best of Scottish business was celebrated at a reception at Edinburgh Castle last night.

Attended by over 100 senior business leaders, the event showcased the immense contributions made by the Scottish Chambers of Commerce network in supporting businesses to grow and invest in local communities and highlighted Scotland’s place on the world stage in securing net zero opportunities and expanding international prospects.

First Minister Humza Yousaf praised the work of the network and said collaboration between business and government will boost investment, exports and entrepreneurship.

He said:

“The Scottish Government I lead is absolutely committed to unleashing the country’s enormous economic potential. We are using the powers at our disposal to contribute to boosting international investment and unlocking the wealth of investment opportunities we have in Scotland – measures such issuing our first ever bond to finance key infrastructure support that ambition.

“Scottish Chambers of Commerce and its wider network plays an important contribution to seizing Scotland’s economic and investment opportunities, particularly through the support it offers to local businesses and helping promote the significant exporting opportunities many businesses across Scotland have.

“I look forward to continuing to engage with the many Scottish businesses which are investing and innovating in Scotland, as well as supporting our commitment to an economy that is fair, green and growing.”

Stephen Leckie, President of Scottish Chambers of Commerce said:

“I was delighted to welcome businesses from every part of Scotland to the Scottish Business Reception at Edinburgh Castle. From the cities to the Highlands and a wide cross-sector of companies from energy, manufacturing, tourism, retail, finance, space, education and more, the event was a great celebration of Scotland’s business community.

“From expanding our international trade and exporting opportunities and accelerating our solutions to reaching net zero, the Chamber Network in Scotland and across the world are leading from the front and we look forward to collaborating with the Scottish Government to achieve our shared ambitions.”

Ian Kinnaird, Drax’s Scottish Assets Director, said:

“This event showcased the breadth and depth of talent that exists in Scotland’s business community, and Drax was very proud to support it.

“Scotland has all the right attributes to become a global leader in renewable energy and with the right government support, we can continue to harness the power of wind and water to deliver a sustainable future for our environment and our communities.

“That’s why at Drax we are progressing plans to invest more than £500 million in the UK’s first new pumped storage hydro plant in a generation at our existing Cruachan facility, near Oban. It will not only make our power grid greener and more secure, but it will provide a huge boost to the local economy.”

With both climate change and the recent slashing of government funding to the culture sector continuing to make the headlines, Culture & Business Scotland will be hosting a Members’ Forum focussing on how sustainability strategies can be incorporated into culture organisations.

Taking place on Thursday 26 October at the National Museum of Scotland, the Forum will unite members for a series of presentations, success stories and sustainability strategies, with the aim of fostering collaboration and initiating a dialogue around environmental issues ahead of the launch of COP28 next month.

The cross-sector event will be attended by representatives from businesses of a range of sizes and geographical backgrounds, facilitating networking opportunities as well as providing a platform for businesses to forge connections with culture sector organisations and secure creative solutions to challenges within their practices.

The event will also feature speakers from across the industry, who will be sharing insights into how sustainability can be embedded within culture organisations’ practices.

Dr Ben Twist, Director of Creative Carbon Scotland, will compare the different ways that arts councils are addressing climate change, while Scott Mackay, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Scottish Youth Film Foundation, will showcase COP TV, a project aimed at amplifying the voices of Scotland’s youth in the context of the crucial COP event.

Meanwhile Hannah Schlesinger, Director of Development & Marketing at Edinburgh Science, will discuss The NetZeroToolkit, a product of the organisation’s Climate Co-Lab initiative, designed to help businesses reduce their carbon emissions. Ruth Gill, Director of Public Programmes at National Museums Scotland, will also introduce the event and give a presentation on how the museum is progressing on its quest for Net Zero.

David Nelson, Head of Development and Programmes at Culture & Business Scotland, said: “The significance of ‘sustainability’ in the culture sector is huge. Incorporating sustainability strategies within our practices should be at the forefront of all our minds as the climate crisis worsens, and our Members’ Forum is set to create a dialogue around how best to do that.

“With funding to culture organisations under threat, it’s also crucial that we maximise opportunities to build strong and sustainable relationships between the culture and business sectors. Amongst the many benefits of membership to Culture & Business Scotland is the chance to access these networks and build innovative solutions to the challenges we’re currently facing, as an industry and as a society”.

Individuals interested in attending the Members’ Forum can find out more about Culture & Business Scotland membership here: https://www.cultureandbusiness.scot/members/.

• DASA has launched a new Themed Competition: Novel Disruptive Science Impacting Future Defence and Security
• Funded by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)
• Up to £750,000 funding available for disruptive, early stage ideas and concepts that may be used as the basis for further research within the Defence Science and Technology Futures (DSTF) Programme.
• The competition will be run over two phases

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to launch a new Themed Competition: Novel Disruptive Science Impacting Future Defence and Security. Run on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), this competition seeks exciting concepts, technologies or ideas that may disrupt the future of defence.

The outcome from Phase 1 of this competition is anticipated to be a pool of novel science and technology (S&T) ideas and concepts that may disrupt the defence landscape and have the potential to lead to radical change.

A disruptive impact is something that radically alters how we do things – this can be positive (e.g. a new capability becomes available) or negative (e.g. a new type of threat arises).

Upon completion of Phase 1, we will seek to direct further funds to a number of projects deemed to offer the most potential for Defence or Security. Phase 2 will see funded suppliers explore how to continue their research; the most promising suppliers may be allocated a proportion of £750,000 (ex VAT) to further mature their ideas or concepts.

Key dates and funding

• £750,000 (Exc. VAT) funding is available for this Themed Competition. The value of each funded submission is £50,000
• The deadline to submit a proposal is midday GMT Tuesday 5 December 2023

Do you have disruptive idea or concept? Read the full competition document and submit a proposal.

We are interested in low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) ideas (TRL 1-2) from any discipline that may disrupt current ways of innovating, which could in the future either benefit defence or security, or form the basis of countering a threat. We would like you to provide us with an exciting flavour of what might be possible and be disruptive.

Proposals submitted for this competition do not need to fulfil contemporary defence requirements.

To learn more about the challenge area of the competition, read the full competition document.

Supporting events

Webinar

• 31 October 2023 10:30 – 12:00pm GMT

This dial-in session will provide further details on the problem space and a chance to ask questions in an open forum. If you would like to participate, please register on the Eventbrite page.

Submit a proposal

Do you have an innovation that may help develop new technologies or concepts that may disrupt the future of defence? Read the full competition document to learn more and submit a proposal.