COVID-19 Risk Assessment Update 02/07/2020
Dear Member,
As an employer, you must protect people from harm. This includes taking reasonable steps to protect your workers and others from coronavirus. HSE has publised their updated COVID-19 Risk Assessment advice, which can be viewed here.
For the latest information and advice on the coronavirus outbreak visit their website.
If you have any questions, you can call the team on 0141 221 3181.
Job Retention Scheme Grant Update 29/06/2020
Dear Member,
Find out how to pay all or some of your grant back if you’ve overclaimed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. You can:
Find out more here.
As always, if you require any support or have any questions you can contact the team on 0141 221 3181, thank you.
Headtorch Mental Well-being Breakfast Session – Thu 2nd July
Now is a critical time to prioritise your mental health and well-being to enable you to stay well and focussed whilst working during these extraordinary times.
Therefore, we’d like to extend this invitation to join our Mental Well-Being Breakfast Webinar, in partnership with Member company Headtorch on the morning of Thursday 2nd July 2020. With many of us just starting to get used to lockdown life and settling into a new reality and routine, the prospect of returning to work can be daunting. In this online session, our aim is to give your mind a little holiday from the current stress and worry for a while, and to instead focus on creating an effective and healthy homeworking environment, whilst also looking at steps you can take to minimise any anxious thoughts that may arise when returning to work. The team at Headtorch will give you an overview of how to work well at home and at work, whilst looking after yourself and looking out for your colleagues. This advice will be provided through a series of key messages and practical steps, with the opportunity to ask our speakers questions throughout.
Click here to view our speakers and info on how to register.
Scottish Engineering INWED Breakfast Session – Fri 26th June 2020
Women make up around 12% of the engineering sector in the UK. With a large skills gap looming and the need for a more diverse workforce, it has never been more important to inspire and encourage more people, especially women, to choose a career in STEM.
While we see many UK engineering firms already well engaged in driving better gender balance in the engineering profession, more work is needed in promoting ethnicity/race. That’s why for this particular session we have reached out to inspiring women within the BAME community to join us as our guest speakers, in the hope that we can help to provide a platform and amplify the voices of women who are so often under-represented in our industry.
Please join us for this fun and informal online session on the morning of Friday 26th June in celebration of International Women in Engineering day on 23rd June. Please note that this event is not exclusively for women – we enthusiastically welcome everyone to attend. The aim of this session is to raise the profile of women in STEM, whilst celebrating their achievements and hopefully inspire the next generation of STEMinists.
Click here to view our speakers and for more details on how to register.
Members Briefing – Test and Protect and Phase 1 Toolkits
Dear Member,
We would like to draw your attention to the NHS and Government campaign on test and protect. Attached are the Test & Protect and Phase 1 Stakeholder Toolkits. These are assets for workplaces to help promote awareness and engagement by employers and their employees.
Please feel free to pass these toolkits onto any of your contacts who may benefit from this information. If you have any questions, you can contact the team on 0141 221 3181.
Click here to view Test and Protect info
Click here to view Routemap info
New Online Career Enhancement Programme (CEP) for Women
It is a well-known fact that women have historically been under-represented in the engineering and construction sectors, and although there has been a significant push for gender equality within these fields in recent years, there’s still a lot of work to be done.
From facing obstacles in applying for promoted roles and experiencing a lack of opportunities, to finding a lack of inclusivity in job advertisements during recruitment processes, there is a plethora of reasons behind women falling off the job ladder in these sectors, or feeling unable to progress.
Scottish Engineering and EQUATE Scotland have partnered to bring you this free online Career Enhancement Programme (CEP), as part of the Inclusive Engineering Programme. The programme has been funded by the Workplace Equality Fund, who support organisations to work to promote and develop more inclusive and diverse workplaces, so that everyone in Scotland has the opportunity to fulfill their potential.
For more information and details on how you can apply, Click here.
Dear Member,
All of our member companies, whether operational or preparing to return to work, are having to address their responsibilities to provide as safe a working environment as possible in regard to Covid-19 as well as “normal business” hazards.
PPE will obviously play a key role in addressing these issues and, thanks to those member companies who got in touch, we can now provide a list of members within our network who are manufacturing and/or supplying PPE. We kindly ask that you contact these companies directly for further information on detailed specifications or availability. All these businesses are located in Scotland.
Members Briefing – Job Retention Scheme Clarification
Dear Member,
We wanted to share more widely clarification from BEIS on the changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. As stated in the policy notification:
To clarify issues raised over the transition of systems:
If you have any questions, you can contact the team on 0141 221 3181
Meet Your Army – Online Engagement
Scottish Engineering members are invited to join a virtual presentation from the Army Engagement Group. This is a great opportunity to take an hour out of the daily routine to hear about how our Army is supporting and serving the country at home and abroad, covering issues such as:
There will also be opportunity to ask questions and interact with the Army team online. There are 3 dates to choose from:
3pm on Tuesday 9 June 2020
11am on Thursday 11 June 2020
6pm on Wednesday 17 June 2020
Please feel free to share with colleagues or friends who may have an interest. Register here.
Members Briefing – Migration Policy Update
Dear Member,
The UK Government’s new point based immigration system is due to come in to operation on 1st January 2021 and will have significant consequences for any employer looking to sponsor foreign nationals, including those from EU states, to live and work in the UK. Click here for a summary of the policy.
Scottish Engineering along with other industry associations and employers has been contributing to the consultation process over the last year since the initial proposals were published, and we can confirm that the recent policy statement provides significantly more flexibility for the UK engineering/manufacturing sector to secure essential skills from overseas where required.
In summary, companies will be allowed to sponsor foreign nationals who meet the lower thresholds of RQF 3 skills level (eg A-level, Advanced Apprenticeship or equivalent) and a salary of £25,600. Roles with salary levels between £20,480 and £25,600 may also be supported if the role is identified on the SOL (Shortage Occupation List) or if the candidate has a PhD relevant to the role. In some circumstances, therefore, the SOL will be a critical factor in enabling employers to recruit foreign nationals. There will also be a specific Scottish SOL to take account of differences in labour market and skills profile here.
The MAC (Migration Advisory Committee) has been tasked by the Government to make recommendations on the SOL by September of this year. On 13th May 2020, they launched a 6 week consultation inviting businesses to share their experience of recruitment and provide evidence on the categories of roles that should be included in the SOL. From our discussions with the MAC, it is clear they are keen to take evidence from any companies in our sector, especially from SMEs on shortages of skills in, for example CNC, machining, electrical and electronic trades etc.
Scottish Engineering will be making a sector level submission but we would ask that any members who currently employ foreign skilled workers or may require to do so in the future, submit evidence to the MAC. Click here for further information.