Making Scotland's future - a recovery plan for manufacturing: June 2021 - final

Final Actions

• Develop a manufacturing 'network of networks' to pool and coordinate the resources of the variety of public and private networks already in operation. As well as improving impact and alignment during a time of rapid change, it will help to raise awareness of Scottish manufacturing and help with the development of new relationships between the Scottish manufacturing community and other UK and international stakeholders.
  [Action Code CN1]

• Build a programme of activity designed to stimulate demand for investment in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the development of stronger business cases. This will involve a Manufacturing Investment Forum for bringing the manufacturing and investment communities together. It will also involve the more widespread promotion of tools and resources available to help SMEs win external funding.
  [Action Code CN2]

• Develop a manufacturing start-up accelerator facility in Scotland drawing on international best practice and linking with Scotland's wider entrepreneurial system. This will cater for the fact that manufacturing companies can have significant early stage capital investment requirements.
  [Action Code CN3]

• Build a programme of activity to increase the use of external funding by Scottish manufacturing, including City and Growth Deals, UK Sector Deals, UK Industrial Strategy funds and other competitions. This will involve shaping and raising awareness of new opportunities at the UK level, increasing participation from industry in Scotland and influencing the success of bids.
  [Action Code CN4]

• Promote collaboration between companies around sharing resources, costs and risks, including bidding jointly for contracts, sharing facilities and equipment, and joint approaches to exporting and marketing. This will involve the consideration of co-operative business models.
  [Action Code CN5]

• Build a programme of international collaborations, leading to increased levels of manufacturing-related research funding and international trade and investment.
  [Action Code CN6]

• Deliver an engagement programme for manufacturing companies to maximise opportunities and increase Scottish content, helping businesses boost resilience and access new or existing supply chains in priority sectors.
  [Action Code SCC1]

• Increase the economic impact of public sector procurement, by combining our knowledge and understanding of the market. Identify and help equip new and existing Scottish supply chains to anticipate and respond to public sector demand.
  [Action Code SCC2]

• Support inward investors to identify opportunities for Scottish manufacturers that are created by new and emerging supply chains to bring more business to Scotland.
  [Action Code SCC3]

• Deliver webinars and provide remote support tools to ensure manufacturers stay competitive using recognised business improvement tools such as Lean through to supply chain excellence models.
  [Action Code SCC4]

• Roll-out a digital adoption campaign to communicate the benefits of digital transformation and offer real-life examples of companies that have successfully adapted processes. Case studies and evidence from existing digital adoption/development loans and grants should be used to help businesses see the potential benefits of integration.
  [Action Code AT1]

• Accelerate the rate of decarbonisation of Scottish Manufacturing to establish sustainable products and to contribute to meeting our policy targets.
  [Action Code AT2]

• Any Scottish manufacturing company looking for public sector assistance for digital transformation should be aware of the need to be resilient to the growing cyber threat. As a minimum, this awareness should be demonstrated by the completion of the IASME Cyber Essentials self-assessment no later than 31 March 2022. This is aligned with the Scottish Government's Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland.
  [Action Code AT3]

• Align support mechanisms such as the Digital Development Loan, that enable companies to pilot and then implement capital modernisation solutions such as automation and robotics.
  [Action Code AT4]

• Build on expertise gained through existing Scottish clusters, such as the manufacture of PPE, and develop new clusters. The focus should be on building and onshoring new supply chains and encouraging clusters to undertake collaborative environmental and digital transformations.
  [Action Code AT5]

• Encourage employers to utilise the range of available incentives to retain, adopt and recruit apprentices, to mitigate the current disruption, maintain a robust future skills pipeline and promote progressive Fair Work practices across the manufacturing sector.
  [Action Code SWF1]

• Develop a strategic support programme for regions & sectors adversely impacted by the pandemic, ensuring that measures to incorporate diversity are included.
  [Action Code SWF2]

• Work collaboratively with all partner bodies and agencies across Scotland to inform the skills priorities for the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP).
  [Action Code SWF3]

• Establish fast-track employment models to address emerging skills shortages and jobs growth.
  [Action Code SWF4]

• Initiate actions to mitigate the debilitating impact of graduate unemployment, creating meaningful work experience, education, training and employment opportunities across the manufacturing sector to optimise graduate talent.
  [Action Code SWF5]

• In partnership, develop learning experiences to promote and enhance commercial awareness, foster enterprising behaviours and encourage progressive leadership practice within our manufacturing sector.
  [Action Code SWF6]