As there is an ever-increasing focus on employers pivoting their organisational talent to meet new business challenges, upskilling and reskilling the country’s workforce to bridge critical skills gaps will be a key component of Scotland's economic rebuild and recovery. Organisations are recognising the need to adapt for both the short and long term for them to survive in today’s ever-changing climate, to boost productivity and growth or adapt to evolving jobs needs – now more so than ever before, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Open University’s Business Barometer 2020 report found that 60% of employers in Scotland had skills gaps, with some of them taking more than 26 months to fill vacancies. In order to plug those gaps, organisations spent £460 million, a 60% increase on the previous year. That’s a very costly and short-term approach to addressing skills shortages, and one that is unsustainable, particularly for SMEs.

We are delighted that SMEs across Scotland can now access training up to the value of £5,000 delivered by The Open University (OU) to support staff development via the Flexible Workforce Development Scotland – a new fund supported by the Scottish Government via the Scottish Funding Council, and are inviting you to join us in an exclusive webinar to find out more.