in Caithness and North Sutherland

Business Services

Ambitious for Scotland

ContentsForeword 01Business Skills 02Committed People 04Case Study: Alan Sinclair, CSC 06Cost-effective Business Operations 08Great IT Solutions 10Case Study: Kaye MacDonald, BT 14Excellent Connections and Transport Links 16Superb Locations and Lifestyle 18Case Study: Yvonne McCarthy, Pensions Admin Office 20Helping Businesses to Grow 22So, if your business is ready to discover great opportunities 24

ForewordAsk employers what they find special about working in Caithness and North Sutherland, and they tend to say the same thing – people.

With excellent education providers delivering hundreds of bright young people into the jobs market every year, plus a vast amount of technical expertise available across well established business sectors, it’s no wonder a recent survey found the area’s workforce was exceptionally capable.

But it goes deeper than that. According to many employers in the area, it isn’t just high quality skills and experience which sets Caithness and North Sutherland workers apart. It’s their attitude too.

Work ethic, loyalty, flexibility and courtesy are all characteristics of local people. These are qualities which would be an asset to any business, and are certainly critical to those in the financial and business services sector.

That’s one reason why such businesses are now well established, and growing, in the Caithness and North Sutherland economy.

Another is our excellent telecommunications provision, with superfast broadband coming here ahead of other parts of the UK.

Plus, in Highlands and Islands Enterprise, you’ll find all the expertise and support you’d expect from one of Europe’s leading development agencies.

So, if that sounds like a success story your business should be part of, please read on, and discover business services in Caithness and North Sutherland.

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discoverbusiness skills...

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Businesses across the Caithness and North Sutherland region regularly cite the skills and loyalty of the local workforce as principal reason for success.

People in this area are not just capable. They’re committed and are prepared to go that extra mile. It’s a cultural trait, ingrained as part of a distinctive work ethic. It’s just one of the reasons why service businesses choose to locate to Caithness and North Sutherland.

Quality You Can Count On

Today’s modern technology and sophisticated communication links enable businesses to operate almost anywhere in the world. With the right technology, linking customers with suppliers across diverse geographies, cultures and even time zones is no longer a problem.

That’s why Highlands and Islands Enterprise is helping deliver broadband across the north of Scotland which is as good as anywhere in the UK. In fact, businesses in the area look set to be among the first in the entire country to benefit from next generation, superfast broadband.

And when it comes to delivering customer satisfaction, Caithness and North Sutherland comes out on top again.

A business skills survey in Caithness and North Sutherland in 2009 produced startling results. Employers deploying customer services personnel as well as administrative staff said that 95% of employees involved in dealing with customers were fully proficient at their job. Among those performing administrative tasks, 96% were judged fully proficient.

A Pool of Talent

Much of this success can be explained by the pool of well educated and motivated young people who graduate from the region’s schools, colleges or university each year. Scotland’s education system is renowned the world over and the facilities for schools, college and university in Caithness and North Sutherland are no exception.

Every year, hundreds of young people who have attained high academic standards seek local employment. Most are highly computer literate with good communications and numeracy skills and they are seeking career opportunities with good employers and in well managed businesses.

Today, many of these young people have grasped the career opportunities presented to them with vigour. Companies such as BT have allowed talented recruits to build on their academic achievements and progress swiftly on to supervisory and management roles.

Business Services – a Developing Sector

Due to the availability of new entrants, as well as the flexibility of more established people, the numbers employed in delivering business services in the area is escalating. The number of people employed in the financial services sector and other related businesses is now around 2,000. This represents approximately 15% of the overall working population.

Many more people than the national average work in occupations such as administrative and secretarial services: 16% compared with just 11% across the rest of Scotland.

Well educated, motivated people“”

discovercommitted people...

You don’t need to take our word for the quality of personnel available in Caithness and North Sutherland. Look at what existing employers say about the people they employ from around the area. Typically, they use words like:

n Committed

n Talented

n Skilled

n Loyal

n Flexible

n Hard-working

All of these virtues add up to make the people of Caithness and North Sutherland amongst the most worthwhile employees a company could expect to take on. Here are just few of the employers who are more than happy to speak out about the quality of their workforce.

Kaye MacDonald, BT UK Service Desks Director

“There is a local culture of flexibility and a ‘can-do’ attitude that, when coupled with a natural manner of communication and empathy with customers, really do set this operation apart.”

Sue Thompson, Communications Officer, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd

“People here react extremely well to new challenges and opportunities. Our workforce is very stable, with an annual staff churn rate that is in single figures and extremely low sickness absence levels too.”

Will Campbell, Director, JGC Engineering and Technical Services Ltd

“In the end, it is not our investment in equipment and facilities that means we can deliver so uniquely to our customers; it is the skills, innovation and dedication of our workforce, using the equipment within our facilities, that makes the difference.”

Alan Gerard, Technical Services Director, Nuvia

“Recruiting and training staff from the locality has been very easy – with the only problem being to whittle down the applicants. We also get good people direct from North Highland College, UHI which is a valuable asset to us and the area as they develop their courses and qualifications to nuclear and other industry requirements.”

David Morrill, Managing Director, Icetech

“Our research, development and production teams are pretty much 100 per cent locally recruited. Most of them are self taught and develop their abilities through the company from scratch.”

Bill Baxter, Manufacturing Site Manager, Kongsberg

“Our workforce is very stable… …and there are a lot of benefits to being based in Caithness: low operating costs; a skilled and dedicated workforce. And, from my personal point of view, the people are really genuine up here – I’ve got zero staff turnover.”

Catherine Murray, Finance Director, ABSL

“We’re a UK leader in our field and a lot of that is down to our people – they’re one of our main attributes. A lot of the people who come to work for us tend to stick around, so over time they build a lot of knowledge. The result is we’ve got great technical expertise.”

Willie Watt, General Manager, Subsea 7

“The local workforce, in our industry, has to work to the highest standards set in the nuclear and oil and gas sectors. We’re just one company that benefits from the local expertise of local people. We set ourselves high quality and safety standards – our site is one of the most efficient you will find. We’ve got substantial loyalty from our people and a very low turnover of staff.”

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CSC 

CSC is a global leader in information technology. Founded 50 years ago, it helps clients use IT more efficiently for better business results.

The company serves public sector and commercial markets across the world, providing systems analysis, applications development, network operations, desktop computing, and data centre management. It is also involved in outsourcing IT services for customers.

CSC employs around 7,500 staff across 100 sites in the UK and Ireland.

Alan Sinclair, Manager of CSC’s site in Forss Business Park, said, “We are already recognised for our ability to deliver IT support to the specialist nuclear industry. Now the highly skilled staff we have in the Caithness and North Sutherland area have proved themselves to be highly adaptable in delivering a wide range of services to new sectors.

“With the remote working systems we have developed and the skills of our workforce, we can easily service world leading companies across the UK and throughout the globe. An example would be our work with Urenco, a nuclear technology company based in New Mexico.

“With HIE’s help we have increased our competitive edge in attracting new business to CSC’s global portfolio, while at the

same time offering good employment opportunities within the local community.”

CSC has already created extra posts and as a result of its work with nuclear clients, recently raised its local staff numbers to 32. It is recognised as a market leader and a reliable choice, with many major European customers using the company as a valued supplier.

The company originally grew out of having Dounreay nuclear power station in the area but has since gained success in international markets.

“We have the communications skills and links to service clients anywhere in the world,” said Alan. “Software, hardware, we can give support on all of a customer’s IT. With Urenco in New Mexico for example, because of the time difference, we’ve checked all of their systems every day, even before they get into work.”

Alan is convinced that a lot of CSC’s success is down to high quality staff with a lot of experience. He said, “We have an exceptionally low level of staff turnover. When we’ve recruited, the number and quality of the people has been outstanding.

“We’ve also been helped by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) who assisted us with our ambition to get in the people we needed and wanted. We also offer career progression and it’s clear that helps us to build a great team.

“Clearly with the nature of CSC and level of business for the company, communications links are more than adequate for our substantial requirements. We see there being even further advantage in the changes to the telecommunications system which will occur in 2012.”

Alan believes that an IT company should never depend on a physical location to deliver its services. Good connectivity means CSC staff in Caithness and North Sutherland can work from home, on laptops and other mobile devices to ensure customers continue receiving their services without a hitch.

The area has other attractions. Said Alan: “The quality of life here is fantastic. I don’t think you can get better. It is really a great area and there is such a diverse choice of things to do.”

Case Study:Alan Sinclair, CSC

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discovercost-effective business operations...

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Caithness and North Sutherland already has the infrastructure and the resources in place to help local and inward investing companies succeed. It offers owners, managers and employees a quality of life that is second to none. But that’s not all. So what else is it that makes companies want to locate here?

Making a Difference

For the answer to why companies chose this area you have to look no further than the support and incentives that are available to businesses locating in this part of the UK. It’s about discovering how cost effective it can be for businesses to choose Caithness and North Sutherland.

n Hands-on expertise from Highlands and Islands Enterprise

n Office accommodation for business service providers

n New build sites for major development

n Shared facilities for smaller operations

n Access to grants and financial assistance

n Recruitment and training support

n A range of business support services

n Low cost housing

n Strong skills base and technical ability

n Adaptable pool of workers

n Availability of experienced managers and supervisors

n Strong work ethic amongst employees

It’s a powerful mix of resource, support and capability. And that’s what some employers have already found out for themselves.

Catherine Murray Finance Director, ABSL

“We’ve been here since 1999. Since then Highlands and Islands Enterprise have been fantastic. They’ve helped with funding but they’ve also helped us with strategy workshops, mentoring and with import and export compliance. They’ve been really helpful… even helped us make our manufacturing leaner.”

Additional Support for Businesses

Other cost effective support is available from the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber plays a pivotal role in the economy of the area, not least by providing introductions and networking opportunities for businesses to help them become established quickly.

The Chamber also provides access to international trade information as well as offering associated links for vital legal issues such as Health and Safety compliance, HR and Employment Law advice as well as member-to-member discount schemes.

Cost Effective Property

The area has a portfolio of commercial premises available to inward investing businesses. These are cost effective solutions that enable businesses to locate quickly and easily.

Domestic housing costs in the region are generally lower than other parts of the country – significantly so in many cases. A 2009 survey showed that median house prices are around 25% lower in Caithness and North Sutherland than the rest of Scotland.

When you add these factors to lower employment costs, lower rates of staff turnover and lower business overheads, it all adds up to what makes Caithness and North Sutherland a cost effective proposition for so many businesses and organisations.

Enabling businesses to locate quickly and easily“

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discovergreat IT solutions...

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Good IT connectivity has long been a mainstay of private and public sector organisations around the world. And, here in Caithness and North Sutherland, business life is no different. In fact, we’re leading the way.

Today’s Environment

Throughout the area you’ll find companies that already rely on high quality connectivity and reliable broadband speed in order to run their businesses. These include centres set up to handle:

n Data management operations

n Call handling – inbound and outbound

n Administration and support businesses

n Customer services operations

n Market research Already, the area has facilities available that enable large-scale data handling and contact centres to operate successfully.

But time doesn’t stand still and the next generation broadband is already on a close horizon. As you might expect, Caithness and North Sutherland is in the vanguard of these developments.

Next Generation Broadband

Development in telecommunications is moving forward quickly, accelerating faster than ever before. Far from being outclassed by larger population centres, Caithness and North Sutherland is about to become one of Britain’s prime areas for next generation broadband provision. Some of the impacts will include:

n Higher bandwidths

n Superfast broadband speed

n Competitive with anywhere in the UK

n Revolutionised delivery of services for businesses

n High quality interface for public organisations

n New opportunities for creativity

n Scope for greater innovation

n Bringing suppliers closer to their customers

The aim is to provide a firm bandwidth platform on which businesses can better deploy technologies like voice over internet telephony. This will enable companies and public sector organisations to deliver assets including speech communications and multi-media sessions to the web.

Improved broadband will also deliver enhanced facilities for other business services such as file sharing and high quality video conferencing. It will yield cost efficiencies by reducing time and travel costs, and provide better arrangements for business continuity planning and other services that are capable of being delivered online.

The picture is one of improved communication links making life easier and more efficient for customers and for suppliers. It will enable businesses with access to the next generation of fast broadband to operate from almost any location and to interface effectively with their customers around the world.

Communities and Home Workers Will Benefit Too

Communities and individual users will also appreciate the benefits of superfast broadband. It will enable people to work more flexibly and will allow companies to extend their number of hours in which they are in contact with their customers.

Other benefits will include wider family and social networking, better video streaming, web-searching and faster upload and download times.

This vision will inevitably help to ensure that companies with access to these facilities remain competitive around the globe. Small business will benefit too, particularly those serving niche markets and providing specialist consultancy services.

Thousands of BT customers worldwide call on the 300-strong team at BT’s contact centre operation in Thurso for first-stop telecommunications and computer support.

The Caithness centre is one of only four in the UK that is also tasked to handle disaster recovery for BT’s own systems and operations at centres across the UK.

BT

It is also the base from which UK Service Desks Director, Kaye MacDonald, oversees the BT Global Services operations in cities and other locations across the country.

Opened nearly 20 years ago, it has developed into a vital hub delivering services for two of BT’s key business units. BT Global Services deals with large corporate customers worldwide while BT Retail supports over 13 million private customers and a million small businesses.

The company’s commitment to the centre was reinforced in 2010 through a new, 10-year lease for the bespoke building provided by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

Kaye MacDonald believes the Thurso operation’s defining advantage is its people, recruited locally and employed by workforce suppliers Manpower.

“There is a local culture of flexibility and a can-do attitude that, coupled with a natural manner of communication and empathy with customers, really set this operation apart,” said Kaye.

The 24/7 centre’s primary role is fielding customer calls relating to voice and internet-based communications, network disruptions and desktop issues. Staff are

committed to understanding customer problems and solving them within contracted deadlines.

“The challenges can be very unpredictable,” said Kaye. “On any given day, they might include critical problems at a hospital, police station, retail chain or financial institution.

“Although our training ensures the staff can deal with these situations, the culture and attitudes here make all the difference to handling them well.”

Loyalty, people development and low staff turnover are also strong local suits. Some of the original recruits who joined the centre in 1992 still work there. Thurso has one of the lowest overall staff churn rates within BT nationally.

Meanwhile, several local employees have risen from basic positions to senior roles at Thurso and other BT UK sites. Kaye herself is a native of Caithness and moved back a decade ago, initially in a local management role.

“Working from here is very efficient for us, including having a very good building for the purpose,” Kaye said. “Our broadband connections give us very good access to our colleagues and customer base at home and around the world.”

Kaye’s responsibilities as national director mean she’s a regular flyer from Wick via Aberdeen to cities including London, Manchester and Birmingham, as well as driving to Edinburgh and Glasgow. “The flight schedules are pretty convenient,” she said. “The driving is just so different to the rest of the country, as you have no stress and congestion and are on the move all the time.”

Kaye sees the area’s lifestyle as an important factor. “You get to experience two types of culture, moving between a fast and furious worklife to a much calmer and high-quality home and social life.”

She emphasises the culture and resourcefulness of her local staff, who operate as customers’ champions, taking pro-active ownership of their issues until resolved.

“Whatever the requirement, from customer issues to internal shift changes or unexpected staff shortages, they rise to it. That’s something you don’t always find in companies elsewhere in the country. Here it is our strongest asset.”

Case Study:Kaye MacDonald, BT

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discover excellent connections and transport links...

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The success of Caithness and North Sutherland’s business services sector is founded upon the area’s ability to support its people and the goods and services they produce. We know what it takes to make an area efficient, and how important it is for businesses to have confidence in the region in which they operate. Integrated Transport Links

For businesses to be able to operate efficiently a number of important dimensions need to integrate properly and work in harmony:

n Good local transport

n National and international transport links

n Fast and efficient IT connectivity

n Excellent means of communication

n A skilled and loyal workforce

n An ambitious development agency

In many ways, an area’s efficiency can be tested by its ability to move people, data, goods and services regionally, nationally and to markets around the world.

Caithness and North Sutherland enjoys fast and uncongested trunk roads, main line rail stations in each of its key towns, and direct air services to cities in the south. In addition, the region has good harbours and ferries that support neighbouring islands, as well as a range of modern industries, including offshore energy.

The main trunk roads connect the area to Scotland’s central belt and beyond and extend direct to Scrabster Harbour’s car ferry terminal on the north coast.

Rail services connect Thurso, Wick and other communities with Inverness, where fast train links and flights depart to major cities across the UK. Wick Airport also operates daily short-hop flights to Aberdeen and Edinburgh with onward flights to other national and international destinations.

Become Better Connected

For certain businesses, particularly some of the energy-intensive data management centres and large-scale customer contact centres, reliable access to high volumes of electrical power for systems operations and climate control is critical.

Energy is plentiful in the area. However, the region’s proximity to emerging sources of wave, tidal and offshore wind generation provides potential opportunity for companies to take advantage of direct-supply solutions. Similarly, businesses seeking to achieve a low carbon footprint for ethical, social or commercial reasons, will find a range of options available.

Uncongested roads... main line rail stations...air services...and ferries“

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discover superb locations and lifestyle...

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Caithness and North Sutherland is a refreshingly attractive location for ambitious, productive businesses. It also offers residents a superb quality of life; a lifestyle that undoubtedly helps businesses to function efficiently and effectively.

A Wide Choice of Business Locations

Modern transport and IT connectivity across the region helps shrink the distance between a business and its customers and maximises effective working time. But the location of a company’s business activities remains important.

Caithness and North Sutherland offers a wide range of modern business premises, in pleasant, easy-to-reach situations. They are suited to businesses with only a handful of employees to organisations employing several hundred.

The area has several business parks at strategic locations. They offer ready-built premises into which companies can relocate quickly. Some provide serviced sites with scope for like-minded organisations to share accommodation to help manage costs. Other locations are suitable for bespoke developments.

Purchase prices and rents also compare very favourably with other locations across Scotland and in the UK. So, whatever your business needs might be, you’ll find plenty of choice in Caithness and North Sutherland.

The region’s business parks have already attracted some well known names including international players like BT/Manpower. Other sites have attracted smaller operations by providing buildings for individual or multi occupancy where companies share overheads such as reception areas, refectory, photocopying, mail handling and even a gym.

Sites are available close to strategic locations such as:

n The harbours of Scrabster and Wick

n Sites in close proximity to trunk roads

n Mainline train station

n Wick Airport

The area’s two principal harbours offer first class location for business services organisations that support marine and offshore activities. Scrabster Business Park is located at the port and both Scrabster and Wick harbours are creating additional facilities to support the emerging marine energy sector.

Lifestyle Choices

As well as offering inward investing businesses a wide choice of locations, the area is attractive to people who seek a healthy lifestyle and the opportunity to enjoy a wealth of cultural, sporting and artistic activities.

Caithness and North Sutherland is alive with opportunities for people to enjoy sport, music, leisure activities and rural pursuits. It’s also an area which is welcoming and rewarding for people who wish to play an active role in community life.

Good quality hotels, pubs and restaurants abound in the towns and villages in the region. No one is ever very far from social activity. It’s a place for people to work hard and to enjoy the fruits of their labour in an unhurried, attractive, healthy environment.

Community Services

High street shops offer access to all modern requirements. Health services, including pharmacies, dental practices, surgeries and hospitals are all easily accessible. It’s a place where community support is at hand.

In Caithness and North Sutherland you’ll find all that you and your employees are likely to need to live, work and to enjoy life to its fullest.

Pensions  Admin OfficeIt is no accident that a growing number of knowledge-rich business services have chosen Caithness and North Sutherland as an ideal base to develop local, national and international operations.

Twenty-first century ICT, coupled with a unique combination of commercial and human resource advantages, has made the business services industry one of the area’s biggest employers.

The Babcock’s Pension Administration Office is a prime example. It manages complex arrangements for more than 70,000 current and former nuclear industry employees and has diversified into private sector contracts. The company is actively growing the business, which employs around 40 people locally, by working with international consultants and further developing its staff.

The company grew out of the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Owned by Babcock since 2009, it has taken its experience, expertise and controls to many more clients.

Yvonne McCarthy, Senior Manager at the Caithness office, said, “We’re just moving to new premises at Forss Business Park which is a reflection of how we’re growing.

“We specialise in complex defined benefits schemes and our reputation for excellent service has drawn in other customers. Over the years we’ve moved from being an in-house operation to become an external third party administrator of schemes for a number of employees in the nuclear industry.

“We employ 35 people in Caithness and the idea is to expand further. There are a lot of benefits to being here, especially the nature of the workforce. We have people with high quality experience who like to stay with a job and that has given us long lasting expertise. I’m sure we will continue to take on more staff.”

The company has attracted people based locally and from further afield. It delivers a rigorous training programme to ensure all new staff operate at the high level required.

Said Yvonne: “The people in the company are dedicated to ensuring a top quality product leaves the office. Their work ethic and experience is second to none.”

Power supply, connectivity, and the premises they’ve been able to find with support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), all ensure the company can easily serve clients at home and abroad.

Yvonne was born in Caithness and spent time in Edinburgh and England before returning to the area. “We have great housing here, it’s much less expensive than in other parts of the country and there is a good deal of choice. Facilities in general are very good, with the local college having expanded, the new university being established, and big refurbishment work in the schools under way.

“There is a really good quality of life with so much to do. It’s a close community here and we all enjoy the beautiful scenery. There are lots of walks, places for mountain biking, fishing and lots of other activities.”

Would Yvonne recommend Caithness and North Sutherland to other companies? “Definitely, it is an excellent place to do business from.”

Pensions  Admin Office

Case Study:Yvonne McCarthy, Pensions Admin Office

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discover helping businesses to grow...

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The strong work ethic that was so much part of the area’s past now underpins its 21st century reputation and ability to support business growth.

Growth is being driven by the enterprise of business owners, by the knowledge, know-how and commitment of local people, and by the leadership and support of economic development experts.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is one of the world’s leading development agencies. Over six decades HIE and its predecessor agency have worked with many inward investors, helping them relocate, become established and achieve success.

The professional advisers within the Highlands and Islands Enterprise team are able to speak your language. Each one is knowledgeable and experienced. They understand what businesses require in order to become established and successful and they know where to find specialist input when it is needed. The Benefits to Businesses

Highlands and Islands Enterprise provides expert advice on:

n Sources of funding

n Grants and set up assistance

n Office accommodation

n Manufacturing sites

n Power and energy supplies

n Local networking opportunities

n Recruitment

n Training and development

n Business support

Highlands and Islands Enterprise works with Scottish Development International to help businesses locate successfully and develop their export trade. This integration is essential to help inward investing businesses develop new market opportunities and lay down strong roots.

HIE always strives to provide tailored support for new businesses as well as delivering help in those critical weeks and months when an organisation first moves to the area. Powerful Network Support

As well as Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Development International, the local Chamber of Commerce boasts a strong membership. It spans a wide range of industries and sectors.

The Chamber has a full-time team that provides support and access to services for its members including:

n Networking

n International trade forums

n HR and employment law

n Health and safety

n Business planning

n Member-to-member benefits

Quality Workforce

High quality support is not the end of the story.

HIE will assist with the recruitment of employees, supervisors and more senior personnel. Our advisers know that the quality of a company’s workforce is one of the mainstays for any business. Within Caithness and North Sutherland a company can expect to recruit a stable workforce with exceptional loyalty, adaptability and low turnover.

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For more information about the opportunities that are available in Caithness and North Sutherland contact:

Roy Kirk, Area Manager Highlands and Islands EnterpriseTollemache HouseHigh StreetThursoCaithnessKW14 8AZScotland

Tel: +44 (0) 1847 805 209 Email: roy.kirk@hient.co.uk

So, if your business is ready to discover great opportunities...

Ambitious for Scotland

For more information, contact us at:Highlands and Islands Enterprise Tollemache House High Street Thurso Caithness KW14 8AZ Scotland

email: roy.kirk@hient.co.uk

www.hie.co.uk