The Scottish Chambers of Commerce is the voice of business in Scotland. It provides not only support and guidance to chambers across the country, but represents the interests of more than 12,000 companies and organisations.
It lobbies government, organises enormously successful trade missions around the world, and offers essential support and networking that is crucial for our businesses to thrive and the economy to grow.
That is why CGI is a proud supporter of the Chambers, and its Annual Business Address.
Since January, when I had the pleasure of becoming a Board Director, I have personally seen the hard work and dedication of the Chambers.
I have gained valuable insight into the vision not only for business in Scotland, but the incredible contribution made by the Chambers to creating a sustainable economic environment that encourages and enables all our citizens to thrive.
It has been inspiring working alongside my fellow Directors, including President Rodney Ayre, and Dr Liz Cameron, who delivered her final major address as Chief Executive at the Annual Business Address.
These last 11 months have been a wonderful opportunity to watch the force of nature that Liz is within the business community and across political circles.
We all know that she will continue to use her deep knowledge and expertise to drive forward our collective vision for Scotland on behalf of the wider business community.
This includes a five-pillar Business Plan for the country centred on competitiveness, digital transformation, infrastructure, talent and global trade.
It means creating a globally competitive environment in Scotland that rewards risk, supports entrepreneurship, and provides certainty for investors; building a first-class digital network across the nation; plugging infrastructure gaps that impact investment, productivity and sustainability; developing a national workforce plan that directly addresses skills shortages; and boosting international trade for all Scottish companies, especially SMEs.
These policy pillars provide a clear framework that ensures consistency in our efforts to deliver growth, encourage investment, and nurture the talent required to realise our ambitions for Scotland.
Here’s what these policy pillars mean for CGI. CGI is a global technology firm, operating in more than 40 countries with over 90,000 partners supporting clients across both the public and private sectors. The company has for many years invested in Scotland, as the nation has proven to be an excellent place to do business.
As a result, we have grown to more than 750 partners based locally across four offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Scottish Borders.
We are proud to support critical national IT infrastructure and digital transformation across several Scottish local authorities, as well as key Scottish Government programmes – including the NHS Education for Scotland Digital Front Door, now known as mycare.scot.
We have also developed strong relationships with local authorities, higher education institutions, Skills Development Scotland, and Scottish Enterprise. Their support has been instrumental in helping us grow our Scottish talent, from experienced hires to the next generation of young people entering the tech sector, allowing us to scale our business with confidence.
Our partners are proud of the inward investment CGI has made, and continues to make, in Scotland, and of the opportunity to deliver meaningful work within our own communities.
Indeed, last June Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes visited our Glasgow office to celebrate the success of our inward investment to Scotland.
For CGI, the strategic direction set out in the Business Plan for Scotland gives us, as business leaders, the clarity we need to achieve our shared ambitions for the country’s future.
But more than that, it reminds us that even in an environment of constant change, opportunity continues to present itself for those willing to seek it out.
By working hand in hand with the Scottish Government – and by embracing innovation, resilience, and partnership – we can ensure that Scotland remains not only a great place to live and work, but a country that continues to thrive by turning change into possibility.
