Boost for jobs as Scottish bosses bullish on recruiting

MORE than half of Scottish businesses expect to recruit more staff over the coming year, according to a report out today, delivering a timely boost just days after two of the country's biggest employers announced swingeing job cuts.

• Scott McKerracher, regional director for Scotland at Clydesdale Bank

Research by Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks found that 56 per cent of Scottish firms plan to increase their workforce over the next 12 months, with a third looking to take on more staff at managerial level.

More than half of the companies surveyed said they were confident that their business will grow over the next year, while 31 per cent believe they will continue to operate at current levels. However, one in 10 Scottish companies still expect to lose some business over the next year and a quarter anticipate making job cuts over that period.

The figures emerge just days after Standard Life announced plans to cut 600 jobs, including 480 in Edinburgh, and RBS revealed that it was making 3,500 more staff redundant, increasing its total UK redundancy count to more than 20,000.

The jobs outlook was also the subject of downbeat comments from the boss of the UK's biggest recruitment firm last week. Alistair Cox, chief executive of Hays, said that while businesses were replacing departing employees they were not creating new jobs.

However, Scott McKerracher, regional director for Scotland at Clydesdale Bank, said he was encouraged by the survey results. He claimed more businesses are starting to look to the future with confidence and are attempting to develop their operations.

"It continues to be a challenging time for businesses and many will have had to make tough decisions to protect their business. However, few will have lost sight of the fact that their staff are their most important asset," he said.

"By investing in their workforce when the time is right, businesses are helping to pave the way for growth and future success."

The report said recruitment and training were starting to re-emerge as priorities for Scottish companies, with 39 per cent identifying staff retention and recruitment as their main priority over the next year and a third picking out training as a key objective.

The sales, media and marketing sector is leading the recruitment drive across the UK, according to the research, with two thirds of businesses in the sector looking to take on more staff. Around two-thirds of companies in the IT and telecoms, engineering and building sectors are also recruiting, it revealed.

A further jobs boost is expected at the Barclays Wealth offices in Glasgow today where First Minister Alex Salmond will announce plans and investment to deliver hundreds of local jobs.