'When his father entered the business in 1969, it was one of around 200 in the central belt alone'
This year’s campaign theme is Skills Generation, underlining that apprenticeships are crucial in helping us generate a skilled workforce to meet the demands for now and the future
In October, our manufacturing community enjoyed the 2023 Scotland Manufacturing and Supply Chain Conference and Exhibition, which returned even bigger and better after its successful launch last year. Its broad, all-sector approach enables it to avoid overlap with more area=specific events and in turn drew three-and-a-half thousand visitors across just a one-day exhibition. On behalf of Scottish Engineering, I was privileged to open the day with my thoughts on the highs and lows for manufacturing and engineering in Scotland. My reflection was that we sit in an interesting place, having experienced a rapid recovery from the pandemic impact, and a subsequent period of significant pressure on capacity to fulfil demand. Some of that has ebbed and flowed because of wider economic pressures, but aggregate demand remains positive, and once again the width and breadth of sectors served helps maintain an overall healthy outlook. Scotland’s defence, aerospace and energy sectors, to name just a few, remain strong with a pipeline of demand to be fulfilled. A look ahead in new areas highlights that the clear opportunities from the sheer scale of infrastructure changes that will be needed to decarbonise our lives are huge, and whilst no one is going to hand them to us on a plate, there are undoubtedly chances to be taken across energy transformation, transport and heat.
I would far rather celebrate someone or something that is alive now and driving society forward, and AFBE and Ollie are certainly that
Another summer where the enduring global images are of widespread wildfires, blistering heat, and devastating floods
'Unfortunately for me after 10 days of review, the recommendations are not just a miss, but if implemented will push us further back, not forward'
Its detail was a stretch to keep up with for those of us with a limited attention span
This past year looks set to register the highest numbers of new engineering apprenticeship enrolments in a decade
Maybe it’s because just over a year ago COP26 was on our doorstep, the world’s biggest climate conference in our backyard, that it feels disappointing that COP27 in Sharm El Sheik seemed to pass without the public and media focus that such a threat deserves.
