‘GROWING our own’ will be key to Scotland’s economic recovery from COVID-19, according to Scottish entrepreneurs Sir Tom Hunter and Lord Willie Haughey.

“I thought unemployment was going to be our problem – but it’s actually staff shortages,” Sir Tom said on the Go Radio Business Show with Hunter & Haughey.

“There are 364,000 fewer EU nationals working in the UK because of Brexit. That’s a significant number. Around 90,000 EU nationals have left the UK out of the hospitality sector alone. And we’ve got a shortage of 100,000 HGV drivers. Is it a threat or an opportunity? the threats are well documented. The opportunity must be to actually grow our own.”

The businessman and philanthropist said apprenticeship programmes were needed to train staff who were ready to work in sectors like hospitality and construction trades, including electricians, plumbers and bricklayers.

“We’ve got hospitality venues who can now open – but are having to close because they don’t have any staff,” Sir Tom said. “And trying to get a tradesman out [is tough]. I was speaking to a pal of mine who’s got a bathroom business. Demand is really high – but he can’t take on any new work until February, because he can’t find the plumbers.”

The key was to make these jobs into careers, and that meant paying people more and improving conditions.

“Can we give people better jobs, better pay, better training and better conditions? Sir Tom asked.

Lord Haughey agreed. The businessman and Labour peer started his own career as an apprentice refrigeration and air-conditioning engineer. The company he and his wife started in 1985 – now called City Facilities Management – has since grown to employ around 14,000 people globally.

“We should absolutely have a national technical apprenticeship programme,” Lord Haughey said. “I think if Scotland wants to lead the way, there’s a great opportunity here for John Swinney (Deputy First Minister and COVID Recovery Secretary) to say, right, here’s what we’re going to do for real technical apprenticeships.”

Lord Haughey said he had read that £600 a day wouldn’t get you a bricklayer and that plumbers were £150,000 a year.

“At this sort of money, these are great professions now,” he said. “So I think there’ll never be a better time for us to invest in apprenticeships.”

Donald Martin, editor of The Herald and The Herald on Sunday, said: “That’s going to take time, to train people up. They reckon that an HGV driver will take 18 months to have the skills. And if you want to be a top chef, you’re talking years. In the short term, should we address immigration restrictions that were imposed following Brexit?”

Sir Tom replied: “We need positive immigration. I know that goes against the whole reason a lot of people voted for Brexit. But maybe we should take a pause and rethink about that. The facts have changed. So what do you do? You change your mind.”

Lord Haughey said the grow your own idea should also apply to Scotland’s resources, especially with raw material costs rising.

“If we want to fix the supply chain, we have to look at the resources we have available,” he said. “Forestry is a big thing in Scotland, so we should be planting more and more trees – because we’re going to need a lot more wood.”

Lord Haughey said the cost of products like steel, cement and wood were soaring as countries around the world all tried to build their way out of COVID.

Along with guests from the Scottish business community, The Go Radio Business Show features business advice and insight from Sir Tom and Lord Haughey at 11am on Sundays.