Business News Round Up (24/06/2025)
Scottish employers out of sync on skills gap
With employers now routinely saying they’re short on skills, a new report from the Open University has found that Gen Z are ready to step up and could be the key to closing Scotland’s burgeoning skills gap. The study, Business Barometer: Skills for Today and Tomorrow: How Employers Can Plan for Future Skills, found that 56% of Scottish organisations are currently experiencing a skills shortage, but that only 35% have specific initiatives in place to recruit, retain or train under-25s. At the same time, the majority of Gen Z are aware of Scotland’s skills challenges, and are factoring that into their career thinking, but lack the guidance and support they need to become work ready. According to the Open University, 66% have never been told they lack specific skills, despite 34% of employers perceiving a lack of “work readiness” as one of the top barriers to filling roles.
https://www.digit.fyi/report-scottish-employers-out-of-sync-on-skills-gap
NW equity market rebounds with growth in deals and value after multi-year decline
Total equity investment into smaller businesses across the North West of England increased by 46.2% to £654m in 2024, despite a nationwide slowdown in activity. The volume of equity deals also increased in 2024, rising by 11.5% to 146 deals. The North West is one of only three regions in the UK to see both deal volume and value increase, according to the British Business Bank’s annual Small Business Equity Tracker. In 2022-24, the British Business Bank had a higher share of deals than the wider market, with 6.2% of equity deals in the UK going to the North West, compared with 7.8% of Bank-sponsored equity deals, highlighting the Bank’s confidence in the region. Business angels continue to be a significant source of equity investment for start-up and early-stage businesses with 70% of angels investing in early-stage businesses.
Scottish businesses reckon AI adoption will drive growth
The majority of Scottish firms believe AI adoption will be a key growth driver in the country’s economy. Bank of Scotland’s latest Business Barometer found that 52% of Scotland’s company leaders believe AI will drive local economic growth. Of the 61% of businesses already using AI, 81% have seen it increase their productivity, while 79% reckon it has improved their profitability. Firms are most commonly using off-the-shelf AI platforms to improve their efficiency (59%), analyse data and make better-informed decisions (31%) and automate some of their processes (31%). Looking ahead, 39% of Scottish firms plan to invest more in AI in the next year, with 34% of non-adopters planning to use it for the first time. Meanwhile one in five plan to create new AI-specific roles. Businesses said the biggest drivers of future AI investments are driving further, or new, increases in profitability (48%) and productivity (48%).
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-businesses-reckon-ai-adoption-35441613
Tourism ‘needs support’ despite record figures
A tourism industry leader has warned that record numbers of visitors to Scotland conceal underlying pressures that risk the future of many businesses. Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance said new figures released by VisitScotland from the latest Great Britain Tourism Survey “tell only part of the story” and that the industry needs more support. The number of international visitors in 2024 soared to a record 4.4 million, from 3.9m in 2023 and 3.24m in 2022. Spending by these visitors increased by 7% to £3.9 billion, although they booked fewer overnight stays, which fell from 34.3m to 30.8m. However, international visitors typically stay longer and spend more than domestic visitors. Mr Crothall said the figures underline the strength of Scotland’s global appeal and show the huge contribution international visitors make to the economy.