About the business
Craft Skills Scotland, operational for over 50 years, is a specialist training provider delivering on-the-job training and Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) including Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) to employees across the food and drink industry – including cafes and restaurants, farm shops, butchers, breweries, distilleries and even ice cream parlours.
The support from Business Gateway has been incredibly valuable. The Skills for Growth work helped us better understand our team and how we can use everyone’s strengths more effectively. It’s encouraged a more collaborative approach and given us the confidence to make changes that will benefit the business in the long term.
How Business Gateway has helped
Working with Business Gateway, the business received one-to-one support from adviser Andrew Webster, alongside access to a Skills for Growth analysis. This process focused on understanding staff strengths, identifying development opportunities and ensuring the whole team had a voice in shaping the business’s future.
The team was keen to diversify after previously having a focus on butchers. Business Gateway supported them with opportunities to grow the business by introducing them to other industries and supporting the growth.
Alongside this, Craft Skills Scotland accessed specialist marketing and social media support, as well as signposting to external digital training, including courses on tools such as ChatGPT. Thanks to Business Gateway, the team is welcoming two marketing interns in January who will help share the business more widely.
The business was also introduced to wider funding opportunities, including the Tay Cities Fund, opening up new ideas and potential routes for development.
The impact has been wide-ranging. By listening more closely to staff and using their experience to inform decision-making, the business has made practical improvements to how it works day to day, from rethinking how meeting spaces are used, to creating stronger, more consistent social media content using tools like Canva. The team has also begun using digital tools to support everyday tasks, improving efficiency and confidence across the business.
Claire Simpson, Training Manager at Craft Skills Scotland, said: “The support from Business Gateway has been incredibly valuable. The Skills for Growth work helped us better understand our team and how we can use everyone’s strengths more effectively. It’s encouraged a more collaborative approach and given us the confidence to make changes that will benefit the business in the long term.
“The team also helped us move into different industries and diversify a 50 year old business, which has been a fantastic success and allowed us to provide more training opportunities. We now have the tools, insight and confidence to keep building on this work as demand for our training continues to grow.”