FSB Scotland has just published one of its biggest ever pieces of research.
The report can be downloaded here.
The latest Big Small Business Survey offers a unique insight into the ambitions and challenges of the country’s 350,000-plus small businesses, including a section on skills and apprenticeships.
Key findings
- More than half of small business in Scotland are aiming to expand in the next two years,
- Rising business costs are one of the biggest threats to those ambitions,
- One in five small businesses had to cut their services or opening hours due to staff shortages,
- One in seven small businesses spend the equivalent of at least one full day a week on paperwork relating to regulatory compliance.
Careers and recruitment
- Almost four fifths of Scotland’s businesses do not engage with schools/colleges/universities with regards to careers and recruitment.
Apprenticeships
- Three quarters of businesses do not (and have not) employed an apprentice.
- Businesses operating for longer than five years were almost three times more likely to report taking on an apprentice, with over a quarter (26%) doing so, compared to those businesses operating for five years or less (9%).
- Businesses in the Construction and Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sectors were most likely to take on an apprentice.
- Of those businesses who do (or have previously) employed an apprentice, more than half found it to be a positive experience; however, this reading declined by 10 percentage points compared to the 2023 survey.
- Financial capacity remains the key barrier for small businesses who have never offered an apprenticeship.
