Business News Round Up (28/07/2023)
Closing ‘participation gap’ among over-55s could create 55,000 Scottish jobs
Bringing labour market participation among Scotland’s older workers up to similar levels to the South East of England could create more than 55,000 additional jobs. That’s according to the latest Golden Age Index from PwC UK, which highlights significant regional variations in the employment rate of workers aged 55 to 64 in the UK. Scotland ranks as the third lowest of the UK’s nations and regions at 60.7% – compared with 68% in the South East. The index measures how well countries are harnessing the power of their older workers. It shows that if all 12 UK regions absorbed older workers into the labour force to a similar extent as the South East, it would translate to an additional 320,000 jobs – equivalent to around one third of UK vacancies. The regional disparities are believed to be driven by a variety of factors, including educational incomes and the likelihood of older workers in Scotland, the North East of England and Northern Ireland – which have the lowest employment rates of 55 to 64 year-olds – to be employed in industries like education, health and manufacturing; which offer less flexibility for employees. Jason Morris, regional market leader at PwC Scotland, said: “While there is no doubting the regional disparities at play when it comes to participation of older workers, there is a clear opportunity here in Scotland to work towards absorbing more people over the age of 55 into the labour force. This will not only benefit the growth of the economy and alleviate inflationary pressures but could also allow businesses and younger members of the workforce to benefit from their invaluable skills and experience. To some extent, the findings of the Golden Age Index tie in with key points highlighted in our recent Good Growth for Cities Index – which showed Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen tracking below the UK average for health. There’s a possibility that the impact of these health inequalities could be contributing to older workers choosing to exit the Scottish labour market. “
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/closing-participation-gap-among-over-30572983
Green light for Manchester Science Park expansion
Plans for the next phase of Manchester Science Park’s masterplan development – which could support hundreds of jobs – have been approved.Lined up is Bruntwood SciTech – a 50:50 joint venture between Bruntwood and Legal & General – bringing forward a £60m redevelopment of the site’s existing Greenheys building. This would comprise 131,000 sq ft of highly specialist, world-class lab space. The plans represent the third phase of Bruntwood SciTech’s masterplan to grow the campus to one million sq ft following the completion of its purpose-built Industry 4.0 hub Base in July 2022. The existing Greenheys site is set to be redeveloped into a six-storey purpose-built lab space designed specifically for scaling life science businesses working in diagnostics, genomics, precision medicine and more. When complete, the building is expected to accommodate about 730 FTE (full-time equivalent) jobs and generate £53.2m of GVA (gross value added). Enabling works are due to commence later this summer. The approval follows confirmation that UK Biobank will move to Greenheys, adding to and complementing the 150 businesses already based at Manchester Science Park. UK Biobank was recently awarded £127.6m from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to support its relocation to a purpose-built facility with larger, faster, and more efficient biological sample storage.
https://www.insidermedia.com/news/north-west/green-light-for-manchester-science-park-expansion
62% if hospitality businesses think sector receives less support and attention than other industries
The majority of the UK’s hospitality businesses believe the industry is overlooked by the Government, new research from Peckwater Brands has found. Europe’s largest virtual food brand operator commissioned an independent survey of 250 decision-makers in senior management positions within UK hospitality businesses (restaurants, takeaways, cafés, and bars). It found that over three-fifths (62%) of UK hospitality businesses believe their sector receives less support and attention from the Government than other industries. This comes as many hospitality business struggle with rising overheads, staff shortages and falling consumer spending, leading 4,600 to close their doors in the 12 months leading up to March 2023. When asked what support could be beneficial to the sector, 28% of businesses believe employment incentive programmes would make a positive difference, with 21% wanting additional visa opportunities for foreign workers who could work in hospitality. Two in five (40%) would welcome an extension of energy bill relief, while 36% would like to see the return of ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ or a similar initiative. In a move to cut costs, 48% have renegotiated with or changed their supplier in the past year, with a further 44% planning on doing so in the next 12 months. Many are also reevaluating their business strategy: 26% have switched to a takeaway-only model, with 32% planning to do so, while 39% are planning a complete rebrand of the business.
New green jobs to be created after Greater Manchester invests £2m to support biotech research facility
A £2m investment by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will help create a range of green jobs in the city-region. Holiferm is a trailblazer in the development and production of environmentally friendly biosurfactants that are used in a variety of products, including shampoos, surface cleaners, hand cleansers and cosmetics. The firm’s gravity-based separation technology, which was first developed at the University of Manchester, uses fermentation to create the substance in a similar way to how beer is brewed. The yeast used in the process is derived from honey, it is combined with rapeseed oil and glucose, which makes it more environmentally friendly. Through the new technology a range of everyday items can become more efficient and milder. GMCA’s investment in Holiferm will enable the creation of 45 highly skilled roles as well as create 15 back office staff roles at their research lab in Trafford Park, taking the firm’s local workforce up to 60. These jobs will support research into improving and developing their manufacturing process, which takes place at Holiferm’s production site in Wallasey.