THE Scottish Government and one of Scotland’s leading independent economic development networks have urged SMEs to register for new resources and events to help them drive innovation, productivity, sustainable development and economic growth.
The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) and the Scottish Government have set up two new pilot Productivity Clubs designed to help businesses improve their productivity through the sharing of advice, experiences and knowledge.
Any business in Scotland is able to sign up for free to the Productivity Clubs at www.productivity.scot – attendance at events is also free of charge. The Scottish Government and SCDI believe the clubs can identify and support the implementation of small changes that can that have an impact on growth and productivity for individual businesses and the economy as a whole.
Although the initial pilots will take place in Glasgow and Edinburgh, there will also be extensive information available online for anyone who has signed up.
SCDI director of policy Matt Lancashire said: “The Productivity Clubs will, first and foremost, be business-led and engage businesses across Scotland to learn how they can improve their own productivity. We would urge as many businesses as possible to sign up.”
“Productivity is crucial to growth and there is a long-term need to improve Scotland and the UK’s performance in this area. What we know from speaking to our members is that they are most likely to take action on business productivity when the benefits are clearly demonstrated and explained by one of their peers or someone else in business they respect.
“That is the challenge which Productivity Clubs seek to meet. There are a lot of networking events out there but these events and activities will, first, be focussed purely on improving productivity and, second, be aimed at learning rather than sales or direct business partnership.”
Investment Minister Ivan McKee said: “Since 2007, productivity in Scotland has grown at a faster rate than the rest of the UK. To build on this, we are taking steps to ensure we improve our national performance.”
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