Leadership programme boosts Scotland’s rural business growth

Over 40 ambitious rural business leaders celebrate their achievements in completing the 5^th Scottish Enterprise Rural Leadership Programme at an awards ceremony in South Queensferry today (14 March).

The programme, which was developed five years ago to help rural business managers further develop as visionary leaders, has proved highly successful. Businesses are becoming more profitable, investing more on innovation and becoming more customer focussed.

In the last year, success stories have included Adrian Ivory, a beef farmer from Perthshire, who became a ‘national celebrity’ when he appeared in Asda’s Christmas advertising campaign in 2010 explaining the quality of his beef to the consumer. As a result of this hugely successful advertising campaign, sales of quality beef at Asda stores rose by an incredible 250% and Adrian's own business saw an increase in sales as well as raising his business profile in producing quality Scottish produce.

Another success was an idea developed by two participants in the 2009/10 programme, Willie Mitchell and George Purves. They successfully led a national campaign which was picked up by QMS, the Scottish red meat industry marketing body, to promote Scottish Lamb as the National Dish on St Andrews Day.

Ed Smith, managing director of Norvite, an animal feed company based in rural Aberdeenshire, also participated in last year’s programme. Over the last six years, Ed has developed his company, doubling its turnover and employment, which has resulted in Norvite becoming one of Scottish Enterprise’s intensively supported account managed companies.

Julian Pace, rural director at Scottish Enterprise congratulated the successful participants on their achievements, saying: ”The rural economy has a unique contribution to make to Scotland’s success – it represents around 95 per cent of the land covered by Scottish Enterprise and is home to 75 per cent of Scotland’s rural population – and that is why we have invested over £150 million in rural economic development since 2007.

“But economies need leaders with a global mindset equipped with the confidence and tools to navigate the challenges ahead, who can inspire and motivate their people to remain committed and who continually innovate and perform to the best of their abilities. Those are the leaders that will help Scotland reach its true potential.

“I congratulate this year’s participants on successfully completing the programme. However, this is just the start of their leadership journey. I urge them to continue to seek improvements in leading their organisations and focus on their vision for growth.”

Jim Mather, Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism also attended the ceremony to praise the participants for their commitment to shaping Scotland’s rural economy. He said: “The Scottish Government is firmly committed to supporting rural Scotland to grow its vital economic contribution and helping businesses to embrace the growth opportunities that exist in our rural communities.

“We underlined this commitment this month with the launch of our Digital Strategy, in which we commit to exploring how we can support growth in rural communities by building digital connectivity that is fit for the future.

"And through the Rural Leadership Programme, Scottish Enterprise is supporting businesses to develop strong leadership skills – a vital attribute that will play a key role in achieving the rural business growth we all want to see.”

Scottish Enterprise’s Rural Leadership Programme runs over a six month period each year, and consists of a series of rural knowledge workshops, residential modules and group learning based on leadership development. This year’s programme was delivered in partnership with the Scottish Agricultural College.

To date, 200 participants have successfully completed the Rural Leadership Programme. Following completion of the programme, Scottish Enterprise continues to support the programme participants to help them maximise their effectiveness as leaders in the future.