‘Invest in people’ rallying call to Fife businesses at Fife Chamber AGM

The call came from Dr Liz Cameron CBE, chief executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce in her address to the annual general meeting of Fife Chamber of Commerce, held recently at the Bay Hotel in Kinghorn. She also made the call to government, both north and south, to doits part to support Fife businesses by creating the right environment for job creation and investment.

Dr Cameron highlighted the strengths and diversity of the Fife economy, with world leading institutions such as The Open, the University of St Andrews, leading manufacturing technologies, now supplemented by the new Forth Green Free Port which will add another string to the already strong regional offering.

She said: “You have a fantastic landscape to build and grow even more, calling on all business leaders to build around these fantastic opportunities for the area and its people. If we are in the business of alleviating poverty and skilling our own people – the best way is to create jobs and invest. Businesses must be supported to achieve these ambitions.”

Looking to the future, Dr Cameron noted ongoing challenges being faced by Fife and Scottish businesses more generally in the form of ill thought and unmeasured business regulations, high inflation, tax burdens and skills shortages.

She stressed that Fife Chamber and Scottish Chambers of Commerce would continue to press government on these issues in the hope it will not only listen but take appropriate and swift actions.

“We simply do not have the time – we are global players with world-wide competitors,” she added.