A few weeks back, thanks to the good folks at CeeD, I was asked to speak at the Scotland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition.
At a recent CeeD event, the conversation turned to a regularly discussed challenge: recruitment, and specifically the difficulty of finding high-quality apprentices. In my three years of working with a wide range of companies and individuals across engineering, it’s a topic that has come up time and again.
The creativity, energy and innovation in Scotland’s technology sector never fails to impress.
Ideas never appear to be an issue. Securing the investment to bring them to life, though, is often a major challenge for creators and entrepreneurs.
That’s where the impact of Scotland’s angel investors is important.
Across the tech and wider business sectors, their investments in fledgling companies are making a significant difference to the scale of success.
Scottish SMEs with innovative ideas are being encouraged to explore the SMART: SCOTLAND grant programme, which provides funding for feasibility studies that can help turn high-risk, high-potential R&D concepts into commercial opportunities.
The University of Strathclyde is pleased to announce that their Department of Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management (DMEM) is now accepting proposals for its 2026–27 Industrial Projects Scheme.
Multi-discipline engineering services company, Booth Welsh, recognised for outstanding employee ownership transition less than a year after becoming employee owned.
Circulus, a Scottish circular economy business specialising in a repair led approach to electronics and critical materials recovery, has achieved Certified B Corporation status, scoring 115.6 points and placing it among the top 15 Scottish B Corps.
Notes and reflections from CeeD Scotland’s Together We Engineer at Aggreko (April 2026)
More than 10 years on from the last major update in 2015, the environmental management systems standard ISO 14001 is being updated, with ISO 14001:2026 expected for publication mid April. This is not a radical rewrite, but it is a meaningful evolution – one that reflects how environmental management, climate risk, life cycle impacts and supply chain accountability have moved firmly into mainstream business decision making.