Business News Round Up (15/02/2021)
Find out more about Where Now Consulting. We update our business news daily.
Investment in digital technology set to deliver £232bn boost to UK economy by 2040, Virgin Business Media shows
Investment in digital technology is set to increase UK GDP by £232bn (6.9%) in 2040, according to a major new study by Virgin Media Business and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). The research, which examines how more digital ways of working can support the UK’s economic recovery from Covid-19, found investment in technology could boost the economy by £74bn in 2025. By the end of the decade, sustained digital investment is set to lift UK GDP by £127bn (4.4%) and by 2040 could add £232bn (6.9%) to the national economy – an economic boost of similar magnitude to the current GDP of Finland or South Africa. Detailed sector analysis reveals that, despite the rapid shifts many businesses have already made in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is still a major digital opportunity for organisations right across the economy.
Greater Manchester SMEs ‘shown an unwavering ability’ to thrive in hard times says report
SMEs across Greater Manchester have “shown an unwavering ability to seek opportunity, innovate and thrive in the hardest of times”, according to a newly published report. The GC Business Growth Hub’s first-ever annual review, ‘The Greater Manchester Business Growth Report’, provides an insight into how the region’s businesses have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as understanding opportunities and challenges in the year ahead. Figures quoted in the report, from the Greater Manchester Business Survey 2020, show that the city region was spearheading innovation at a rate double the national average. A total of 406 companies, 76 per cent of those surveyed, had conducted innovation projects. The report adds that to continue to increase profit margins and unlock growth, the importance of considering economic, environmental, and social factors when companies make procurement decisions must be focused on.
Research reveals a mismatch between Scotland’s employer and employee skills goals
The skillswhich organisations are most in need of this year and those which employees want to develop are different, research from recruiting firm Hays reveals. A survey of more than 1,500 employers uncovered the skills that organisations are most in need of over the next 12 months. Those skills are communication and interpersonal skills (needed by 55%), ability to adopt change (54%), flexibility and adaptability (48%), problem-solving (46%) and coordinating with others (38%). However, these skills differ considerably to those which employees want to develop in order to progress their career. These are people management skills (37%), communication and interpersonal skills (28%), critical thinking (26%), judgement and decision-making skills (24%) and negotiation (22%). Only communication and interpersonal skills make it into both lists, highlighting that there is a clear mismatch between the skills organisations are in need of and those which employees want to develop.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/research-reveals-mismatch-between-scotlands-23501554
New £10m research centre for greener global finance
The UK is investing £10 million in a new national green finance research centre that will advise lenders, investors, and insurers. The research centre will enable them to make environmentally sustainable decisions and support a greener global economy. Access to scientifically-robust data and analytics is currently patchy and unreliable, armed with better information, underpinned by innovative UK science, financial institutions around the world will be much better placed to make decisions that contribute to a more sustainable planet. The UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI) will be funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and led by the University of Oxford.