It was interesting to see the recent backlash from Scottish businesses following on from the potential cull of the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) by SNP ministers.
The £10 million Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF), which came into play in 2017, offers businesses access to training and up-skilling for their staff.
The recent draft Scottish budget shows however that this fund may be one of many areas to be cut.
Let’s be clear, removing or reducing this fund in the 2024/25 budget would be a real blow to over 2,000 employers and 45,450 learners who could potentially have benefited from the FWDF.
It’s not just business leaders joining the choir of concern. Trade unions, colleges, and charities have rightfully joined in, calling on the Scottish Government to reinstate the FWDF via an open letter to MSPs.
The Institute of Directors Scotland, Federation of Small Businesses Scotland, Scottish Chambers of Commerce, the Scottish Hospitality Group, the Open University in Scotland, and numerous individual businesses and trade unions have voiced their concerns.
The range of advocates for the FWDF is a testament to the widespread recognition of its importance in supporting skills development and investment opportunities, especially in the face of challenging fiscal circumstances.
Indeed, the Scottish Government’s own evaluation, published January 2023, stated: “The evaluation evidence found there to be a clear and strong continuing rationale for the Fund. The Fund was universally considered by all stakeholder groups consulted in this evaluation to be a much needed and valued intervention.”
There, in black and white, should be the start and end of the conversation, but instead an army of independent organisations need to rally together to save a programme that nigh everyone is in universal agreement of.
This fund works with people who are not going through traditional university degrees, but learning on the job instead. It is hard not to link this with recently raised concerns during Apprenticeship Week, which I wrote about a few weeks ago.
In that column I underscored the importance of non-university career paths, for the individuals and the marketplace, and how it is imperative to address this issue head-on.
Our apprenticeship network, as well as the likes of the FWDF are important ways for young people to not feel left behind by their mates in university, and for our businesses to stay competitive.
One organisation that stood out to me was the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland. It is so often these small businesses suffer the brunt of funding cuts, with larger businesses defending themselves with lobbying and the looming threat of taking their business elsewhere.
The reality of this hits close to home. I’ve started many businesses in my career to date that are all built on taking responsible risks, often with the feeling that the state wants you, and your staff, to succeed.
My fear is that cutting the FWDF paves the way for a culture that doesn’t help cultivate hopeful and innovative small businesses, but scares them away, damaging the very bedrock of our economy.
It serves as a reminder that we must not remove the stepping stones used by many to get to a place where they can show their full potential. It is a call to refocus our efforts and resources on providing opportunities for people that futureproofs our workforce, rather than just pulling the rope back onboard and letting those already in the water drown.
I am calling for a fundamental shift in our approach to how we offer individuals and small businesses a way to better themselves. Investing in our workforce’s development is not only a responsibility but a strategic necessity for the prosperity of our people and economy.
The marketplace is changing faster than we have ever seen for 100 years. My column last week on AI is just one spoke to that violent and ever turning wheel of workplace change.
The fact is that the skills gap is worsening. Properly assisting people and small businesses to grow is a well-documented way to guarantee a good return on investment for the taxpayer, and to prepare for what is coming down the line.
Hospitality highlights shine through sector gloom
Trading has been difficult for Scotland’s hospitality industry. Last week I discussed a poll from the Scottish Licensed Trade Association that highlighted the doom and gloom surrounding the sector is set to continue this year.
However, some Scottish hospitality businesses are bucking the trend.
Acclaimed chef and restauranteur Nico Simeone marked the new year with a strong start, having opened a new flagship Six by Nico restaurant in Glasgow’s Merchant City last month, with a £3million investment into the city’s restaurant scene.
The entrepreneur will also open a new restaurant in the original Six by Nico site in Finnieston. Following a massive and costly refurbishment, the venue will reopen later this month as an ‘elevated chip shop’ named Sole Club. These new openings mean the hospitality group now operates 17 venues in ten cities across the UK. It certainly seems as if they have the recipe for success.
Elsewhere, Ayrshire-based family firm, Buzzworks, reported 19 per cent growth in revenue in its latest trading results, with negotiations underway for three new venues and plans to double the size of its business creating 800 new jobs.
What I would like to see is businesses like these being the norm rather than the exception. With Scottish business rates set to rise by the highest annual amount in more than 30 years, it is a worrying time for many across the industry.
I hope that the Scottish Government follows the rest of the UK in cutting rates for hospitality venues to allow them to flourish. Otherwise, entrepreneurship within hospitality will well and truly be on a knife’s edge.
It Made Me Laugh
Love you to Greggs and back
Couples across Scotland will show their love and appreciation for each other this week for Valentine’s Day.
I had to laugh at news that Greggs has launched a Valentine’s Day gift card, just in time for the romantic calendar date. Forget flowers and fancy jewellery, because the heart wants what it wants. Romantics can get their hands on cards from £5 to £50 in value and there’s nothing that says I love you quite like a Greggs.
No judgment here if sausage rolls are your love language. The gift cards are an alternative to those who can’t get their hands on the bakers limited-edition Bake Tray which will launch on Valentine’s Day priced at £10.
Here’s hoping for no heartburn.
It Made Me Weep
Flexible working or sunny loophole?
The debate on flexible working has reemerged once again following the news that Scottish civil servants are eligible to work from abroad for up to one month per year.
The policy, which has been in place since April 2023, allows employees to fulfil their roles from a foreign country for a total of four weeks each year. But the rule also states when it comes to making a request to work overseas, there must be a ‘genuine requirement to do so’.
Flexible and remote working have no doubt been helpful in opening up access to jobs, but how many of us can genuinely claim that we produce our best work whilst sunning ourselves on a sandy beach?
