EXTENDED funding from the Scottish Government is to allow Business Gateway to continue delivering Scotland’s successul national digital business skills training programme, DigitalBoost.
The funding of £1.63 million runs until April 2020, with hopes that it will continue further beyond that. The programme will help thousands of Scotland’s small and medium-sized enterprises for a fourth year.
Kate Forbes MSP, Minister for Public Finance and Digital Economy, announced the funding extension whilst on a visit to Wonky Woolies, a Kelso-based knitwear company that has benefitted from DigitalBoost support.
She commented: “Technology is forecast to be the fastest growing sector in Scotland by 2024, but success is dependent on skills. We are committed to ensuring our workforce and businesses are able to embrace the many opportunities that the digital world offers.
“I am delighted to launch this next phase of DigitalBoost which will help even more small and medium-sized enterprises in Scotland achieve their digital aspirations. The programme has already supported thousands of businesses and individuals to develop their digital capabilities, including expanding into new markets. I look forward to seeing this continue into DigitalBoost’s fourth year.”
Almost 20,000 Scottish business owners have now benefitted from DigitalBoost’s expert free training and advice, including the founder of Wonky Woolies Alison Pottie.
In 2018 she relocated the company from Glasgow to her childhood home in the Borders in order to secure larger premises, increase sales and bring jobs back to Scotland’s traditional textiles heartland.
Pottie said: “I approached DigitalBoost for support with our digital marketing strategy. I was allocated a digital expert adviser, who analysed our digital footprint, researched different brands and events we could integrate with and ultimately helped to produce a template for all of our social media and digital marketing content. I have just taken on a new member of staff to help with our digital strategy, so the template has given her a really clear indication of my aims and her role in the process.”
“DigitalBoost support built the foundations of our digital strategy and equipped me with the knowledge and information I needed to take the next steps.”
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