Chamber and committees

The discussion so far has brought out my next question, which is about the key skills for which demand is likely to increase in the future. Information technology is an obvious one, but there are other skills that perhaps need to be matched to the labour market. Demographic changes in the labour market and reduced access to the European labour market are having an impact on our chain of skills and labour. Outside the broad sweep of technology, where will the pressures come in the future? Does Paul Hunter have a view on that?

Time is getting a wee bit tight. We will take up Katy Heidenreich’s offer to supply us with that information in writing.

That was helpful. Thank you.

Thank you. I call John Mason.

I ask everyone to keep questions and answers tight. I want to ensure that all members have a full opportunity to ask their questions. We need to be a bit mindful of timing.

Katy Heidenreich wants to come in, briefly.

Thank you for your offer to share information. We will be grateful for it.

Under agenda item 2, does the committee agree to take item 4, which is a discussion about evidence heard and next steps, in private?

Members indicated agreement.

We move on to agenda item 3. Our main item of business this morning is our first evidence session in our inquiry into Scotland’s supply chain, which is the committee’s first inquiry.

We decided that we wanted to consider the short-term and medium-term structural challenges that face Scotland’s supply chains. We are interested in how the challenges and shifts in supply chains are impacting Scotland’s economy. We want to look at how to build future resilience and at whether there are opportunities to develop domestic supply chains. We are structuring the inquiry around the three themes of people, places and product. Today’s session will focus on the first of those themes—people—and look at the demand for skills.

I thank our panel for joining us today. I welcome Katy Heidenreich, who is supply chain and operations director at Oil & Gas UK; Paul Hunter, who is a lecturer in human resource management and organisational behaviour and specialist professional at the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith business school; Mark Logan, who is a start-up and scale-up adviser to the Scottish Government; and Melanie Simms, who is professor of work and employment at the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith business school.

There is no need to touch any buttons, such as the “speak” button. That will all be done for you.

We will move straight to questions and I will ask the first question. How significant are the skills and labour shortages that are affecting Scotland’s economy? Are there sectors or regions that are facing particularly acute challenges? I ask Katy Heidenreich to comment first.

Thank you. I ask Mark Logan to comment.

I think that Mark Logan wants to come back in.