SIMON MIDDLEMAS: A major opportunity for the north of Scotland

View from the Board by Simon Middlemas

On the near horizon is a new, exciting opportunity for our region – one that will not only bring jobs but benefit the entire country – just transition. More than that, this region is best placed to capitalise because geography is in our favour.

So how do we do this?

Just transition is just another way of talking about sustainability – transitioning to an economy not based on the use of fossil fuels and throwing things away, but using freely available natural resources, reusing things and doing it in a way that brings prosperity and social justice to our communities.

This country has made a commitment we will achieve this by 2045 – a tall order, but then targets are never set to be easy.

The good news for Caithness and Sutherland is that we are at the centre of major opportunities needed to help others realise these changes. We encompass in microcosm many of the issues likely to be faced by the rest of Scotland.

On our doorstep we have energy from natural wind resources, the world’s biggest tidal energy stream, energy storage and green hydrogen, peatlands, sustainable satellite launches from the north coast, a multi-skilled workforce and scenery to die for.

These natural resources cannot be moved so geography counts in our favour. We should not look elsewhere for opportunities for the future, we should sensitively develop what’s on our doorstep.

So this is where we are “focused” at Focus North. A truly sustainable region, providing a healthy, economically stable environment for everyone living here.

So, future jobs are not the challenge, but the multitude of skills, resources and services needed to meet the demand is.

We need a larger working population, and this must be built into our regional strategic thinking at all levels. Can you offer the products and services that these industries are going to need in the very near future? Does your company have the requisite skills today? Do you have a plan to be ready for this revolution?

• Simon Middlemas is board director of Caithness Chamber of Commerce and independent chairman at Focus North.

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