On the 17th of January Fusion kicked off their 2012 season of events with an event at Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Alex Paterson gave an overview of the role of HIE and underlined it's work in supporting economic but also community growth.
It was an optimistic look ahead, with the news that HIE's current budget will be maintained over the next 3 years, and that there was some good news coming along the funding pipeline also. Alex outlined how the Highlands and Islands compared to other parts of Scotland and the UK and highlighted that the unemployment rate here is below that of the UK and there are more jobs advertised currently than there were the same time last year.
He pointed out that HIE are working with 500 account managed companies and social enterprises throughout the region and that in certain "fragile" areas account management infact meant community management. Alex outlined some of the great opportunities he saw ahead for the area including the new marine science park currently being built at Dunstaffnage, the opportunities for digital healthcare in Moray and of course the renewable energy opportunities. He also felt that connectivity was key and that with a great broadband supply we could utilise the significant ICT skills in the area better too.
After Alex Paterson's presentations came some discussion with Fusion members and attendees. This covered a range of topics including more networking opportunities for business support, linking up training and apprenticeships opportunities with the unemployed and a perceived gap in support for businesses that have grown from start up but are not yet big. Alex outlined several points in his answer including the fact that whilst there are some guidelines for the point at which support moves from Business Gateway to HIE there were many exceptions to this for businesses in certain sectors and areas.
Discussions continued over lunch before the attendees headed back to their businesses.
Fusion surveyed visitors attending the event about how they felt their businesses would perform in 2012 - no one responding felt their business would contract, with the majority feeling it would stay the same in 2012 and a significant minority feeling it would expand. There was discussion during the event with HIE about how to get positive stories of business success out into the world and into the press as everyone felt that more often than not negative stories were more circulated. HIE have a communications strategy that addresses some of these issues and of course here at Fusion we regularly print member profiles detailing the success of Fusion members in starting and building their business and we also feature regular news updates in Aspire of achievements by Fusion members too.
We hope that this event will be the first of many working in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise given the willingness of Fusion members to share their experiences of operating a business in the region.
Check the website for details of more upcoming the events.
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