Business leaders urged to fill skills gaps with local workers

Published on Saturday 24 May 2008 13:48

BUSINESSES should use ex-offenders and Scots with disabilities to bridge workforce gaps they currently fill with migrant workers, according to the leader of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce.

Liz Cameron is urging Scottish businesses to outsource work they don't have the manpower to do themselves to social companies employing ex-prisoners and other socially excluded people.

She says by using such companies, commonly referred to as "social enterprises", Scottish businesses can overcome the kind of workforce and skills problems that, over the past few years, they have traditionally turned to migrant workers to overcome.

There are 3,000 social enterprises in Scotland – the most famous examples of which are the Big Issue and Edinburgh-based Parkview Laundry, which washes the Scotland rugby team's kit.

They typically set up in deprived communities and employ people who have problems entering the jobs market, such as people with mental health issues or severe disabilities.

According to Government figures, the social enterprise sector now turns over 1bn a year, and Cameron argues that private sector companies in Scotland are not making the most of the services they offer.

She wants more businesses to set up "commercial partnerships" with social enterprises, which would have the dual advantage of helping businesses overcome their labour problems, while contributing to communities and providing employment for Scots who are out of work.

Speaking at an enterprise dinner in Edinburgh last week, Cameron said: "If it had not been for the influx of migrant workers from Europe over the last two years, many of our businesses, across all sectors, would have severely struggled. Let's (now] look to social enterprises to meet that need.

"What are you doing which can be outsourced, and at the same time, provide a real sustainable and quality service to the communities in which you live and work?" she challenged the audience of business leaders, including Jones Lang LaSalle's managing director, Alan Robertson, and PricewaterhouseCoopers partner, Paul Brewer.

Alex Salmond's Government is keen to promote social enterprise to generate income, while at the same time getting the socially excluded into work. In the Scottish Budget in November, finance minister John Swinney created a 30m investment fund aimed at increasing the number and size of social enterprises in Scotland.