Workplace Transformation Support will see grants of between £15,000 to £100,000 provided to businesses to drive and maximise capital investment into a business to optimise its productivity and help boost productivity in Scotland.

Stimulating greater capital investment to drive productivity is a focal point for Scottish Enterprise, as the agency works with businesses to grow and help create higher-value jobs to improve living standards while reducing poverty.

This direction is supported by economic trends and data around Scottish productivity with the goal to position Scotland in the top quartile of OECD countries for capital investment over the next decade. This ambitious target translates to an additional £3 billion investment annually, which is projected to generate £200 million in Scottish income tax.

The Workplace Transformation Support initiative supports these aims of enhancing business growth through targeted support with a total of £500,000 available that will be match-funded by industry.

Scottish Enterprise head of productivity and workplace innovation Clare Alexander said: “We want to drive a business growth mindset whilst stimulating companies’ capital investment and expansion plans. So, whether its research and development or investing in new equipment or facilities – we want to increase support for businesses in these endeavours.

“The Workplace Transformation Support initiative runs alongside our programmes to develop and nurture leadership talent to equip people with the skills needed to steer their organisations toward sustainable growth and helps empower leaders to navigate challenges, drive innovation, and foster a positive work culture.

“This new initiative aims to provide a step on the ladder to invest today, to grow tomorrow and create well paid, quality jobs. If you are expanding your business – please come and talk to us.”

Workplace Transformation Support will:

• Provide grants of between £15,000-£100,000.
• Be open to projects that will deliver the biggest impact for Scotland’s economy and include focussing on key industries including manufacturing; professional scientific and technical; information and communications as well as clean energy sectors.
• Generate funding towards a range of projects from the development of workplace practices to boosting skills and leadership capabilities or training support to adopt new technology such as digital, AI or robotics. Businesses might also use funding to access support around creating a business change process or programme to improve productivity resulting from the capital investment.
• To be considered the business must commit to at least £200,000 capital investment in the next 12 months and this support will help increase the level of investment or accelerate it. For those who have undertaken capital investment in the past year this support will accelerate the return.