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Mar 12, 2010
Darren Montagu, Managing Director of Hays
Scotland – budget comment from Hays
Darren Montagu, Managing Director of Hays in Scotland, comments:
The last minute concessions to increase budgets for 2010 across Scottish housing, education and business are welcome. As Scotland begins the uphill struggle towards economic stability, and hopefully growth, it is vital that there is tangible investment in front-line services, to sustain employment and foster job creation.
For employees the £31m funding in affordable housing will be positive news across both the social housing and construction sectors, as the need for workers in these markets hit hard by the recession begins to grow. The challenge however, will be to strategically target the funding and bridge the potential skills gaps that some industries are facing, for example, due to an ageing workforce and a shortage of training and apprenticeship opportunities. The £20m funding for college places will hopefully help to address this and encourage individuals into careers where we need fresh talent such as, , engineering, technology and oil and gas.
£10m investment to improve access to finance for firms through the upturn should help to build confidence and enable employers to invest in the essential skills and training to sustain, improve and grow businesses across the country.
There's no denying that there are still tough times ahead and the challenges of reducing public spend by 0.9% are significant, but the final Budget is an improvement on the initial proposals and, if targeted effectively the funding will be valuable in stimulating Scotland's economy.
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