Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 16 June 2021
Many industries in Scotland rely on overseas workers and have done so for many decades. However, Daniel Johnson’s points are valid in some cases, and I will return to that later in my speech.
The hospitality and tourism sector can be great to work in, and we should always remind people of that. We should all urge our constituents to seek out good opportunities in that area.
Employers in food and drink manufacturing also report an unprecedented drop in the availability of workers over the past six months in Scotland, which they attribute to Brexit’s immediate impact and the effect on labour mobility alongside pandemic-related disruption. Just this week, I received a letter from the director of Brightwork Recruitment, which provides at peak time almost 4,500 workers to the sector and works with clients such as Diageo, William Grant & Sons and Pernod Ricard Chivas, which is close to my heart as it is in my constituency. The letter highlights the concerns of many in the food and drink industry that, as they approach the fourth quarter of the year, the increasing skills shortages will be too great for many businesses that manage our great Scottish products.
We have been working closely with the sector to launch a food and drink recovery plan that contains a range of activities that support the skills needs of businesses in food and drink to mitigate and reverse the damage that has been caused by both Covid-19 and Brexit. We are also delivering a new youth employment programme across the industry to encourage more young people into it.