FutureWork

The way we work has been transformed during the pandemic with the processes that keep companies running also changing in response to demands from companies looking for flexibility so that they can respond to a rapidly changing business world.

In this podcast, which has been produced in partnership with Anderson, Anderson and Brown, we look at the benefits that organisations can gain from implementing a Virtual Finance Function (VFF).

A VFF can allow companies to scale up their finance function as their business grows allowing increased capacity, functionality and reduced cost.

In this episode, Lauren McIlroy explains what a VFF is and the advantages that it gives companies.

She is also joined by Jon Cooper of Longboat Energy who explains how the platform has helped his company to grow and Matt Vladars of Sera Global Securities who talks about the benefit that VFF brings companies that are operating across multiple countries.

Scotland's rural economy is being revolutionised by technology - but connectivity in remote areas has to improve to ensure it can reach its full potential.

Experts described how a range of tech was being deployed by rural businesses - from virtual electric fences to keep in livestock to 'smart' sprayers that identify weeds and use only the correct herbicide to kill them.

Wearable technology to provide health and welfare information on animals, and mapping using drones, is also increasing - with data provided by a range of devices offering vital insights to improve decision-making.

However, poor rural connectivity is a big problem. Emily Grant, a farmer who also runs rural consultancy Forrit, said: "In many ways, technology removes the barriers of distance, so we can connect people. Someone in Shetland can be at the same meeting as somebody from Dumfries and Galloway. However, although we can remove barriers of distance by having these virtual connections, it can become a hindrance because even streaming a bit of video is a whole lot harder in rural areas."

Professor Davy McCracken, from Scotland's Rural College, said: "Connectivity of all types, not just broadband, is required if we're going to actually make technology work to best effect in these more remote rural areas. Most technologies, whether a sensor on a machine, or a tag on our livestock  rely on collecting information, but it needs to be set back to be either directly to a computer or up to the cloud. That all requires improved connectivity."

He also stresses that the human element will always remain vital when working in rural areas: "Tech is only a bit of kit gathering information. You still need to be able to interpret that. The human element will always need to be there."

Liz Barron-Majerik, Director of Lantra Scotland, which provides training and awards qualifications for land-based industries, said a big focus is ensuring skills are passed on: "We have high levels of attrition and an ageing workforce. It's making sure those skills are passed to the next generation, which is why we're working so closely with SkillSeeder, which has an app that will allow people with skills to share them, whether that's fencing or lambing. It's a much easier way to connect people looking for skills to people who have those skills to share. I think that's going to be quite powerful in the future."

Lantra is also using 'industry champions': industry champions to share knowledge with a new generation: "They are so willing to share their experiences with others and trying to attract others into the sector. They're sharing experiences, talking about the best way to do it and it's coming from the horse's mouth - so to speak."

Scotland needs to move quickly to create a new pipeline of digitally-focused clean energy jobs to make up for significant losses in the oil and gas industry.

An estimated 10-12,000 jobs were lost in oil and gas in 2020 alone - with a further potential spike this year when furlough ends.

Many new data-focused roles will be created in emerging areas like hydrogen and carbon capture & storage, as well as offshore and onshore wind - but can these roles be created rapidly enough to make up for the sharp decline in oil and gas employment?

Audrey MacIver, Director of Energy and Low Carbon at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said: "I think in the areas of blue or green hydrogen production, there are real  similarities [to oil and gas] in terms of the skill sets required.

"If we go offshore, we're looking at more floating solutions to support offshore wind deployment. The sub-structures supporting floating wind are very similar to structures supporting oil and gas platforms in the North Sea.The skills and expertise already exist and again can be readily transferred into floating wind foundations.

“If we look at the repurposing of existing oil and gas infrastructure, in terms of the geo-technicians, the well specialists, they too will be needed for the hydrogen market as that evolves in terms of understanding seabed conditions and well capacity, for storage of hydrogen."

Rob Orr, Strategic Relations Manager for Energy at Skills Development Scotland, said: "With the expected increase in the use of hydrogen and CCS, there will be heightened demand for labour, and technical skills in, for example, the collection and treatment of waste gas, the conversion of existing networks and reengineering of pipelines."

Jennifer Macdonald, Sector Development and Skills Planning Manager (Oil and Gas) at Skills Development Scotland, said there was still demand for oil and gas jobs.

"Currently our forecasts indicate that we're going to need 9900 individuals to fill energy sector openings, by 2030, within Scotland, and many of those are still going to be within the oil and gas sector," she added.

And there are huge opportunities in decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure, she explained: "Our Scottish Skills Review found at its peak, decommissioning could directly employ between 9,000 and 12,000 people in Scotland.

"The study indicated the decommissioning sector was employing individuals on a contractor basis as a temporary solution to fill skills gaps due to uncertainties in project timings, but we're now hearing specialised decommissioning firms are hiring on a permanent basis - due to increased certainty and continuity of projects."

Macdonald said there was lots of work going on to identify the "In-demand skills" that the future energy sector would need  - the 'unknown unknowns' of the future workplace.

And Rob Orr said the energy sector had to move fast to address the impact of oil and gas job losses.

"Some of those technologies are definitely still being tested, while others are advancing fairly quickly, such as the use of hydrogen. As job losses are being felt in the oil and gas sector already, there are concerns about that time lag between what is happening now, and job opportunities in the future."

Driverless transport is on its way - but public caution means we are unlikely to be hopping into a driverless taxi or onto a driverless bus or train any time soon.

Transport experts say the adoption of autonomous vehicles is still largely limited to 'closed loops' - like airport monorails - because of the complexity of the environments in which vehicles move around.

Neale Kinnear, an expert in transport safety and behaviour, said the tens of thousands of people employed in driving jobs in Scotland shouldn't worry about being replaced by robots and artificial intelligence any time soon.

"There's still some way to go, but that's not to say the technology's not there," he said. "We're  trialling autonomous trucks to deliver parcels from one hub to the next. We're doing these trials to learn, so when services come into play, they are done safely.

“There is a lot of the transport environment at the moment that's not suitable for automated technology to fully take over in all conditions. The transport system is really complex -  lots of different people, different types of vehicles and vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists. It's not sufficient for the system to only be good enough a percentage of the time - it needs to be safe at all times."

George Hazel, a transport consultant based in Scotland, said: "In complex urban situations, I think we'll see gradual, incremental change. It  will happen. but you've got to gain the trust of the public and the users.”

He also sees major new job opportunities as technology takes over transport systems: "Technology will have a major impact on the way we do things and generate a whole series of employment opportunities. That will almost certainly need retraining in terms of new technologies, ticketing and how that’s managed and policed.”

Colin Ferguson, Chief Executive of route optimisation specialist The Algorithm People, sees a very different transport future - where  fleets and organisations have adopted electric vehicles and alternative fuel sources, where drones deliver pharmaceuticals and takeaways - and where algorithms and AI are used to plan and schedule deliveries.

He said:  "Rather than three or four people planning fleet movements for a day, that can be done in a few minutes with an algorithm. That allows those people to be deployed to provide a better value-added service to the customer and to do things more efficiently.

“I read that Elon Musk is working on a neural Link Technology, which essentially is a chip that allows you to control tasks with your own brain. I'm not sure the transport sector is quite ready for that yet, but in the future, there will definitely be a situation where we allow algorithms to do more of the manual work we have historically done ourselves.”

What you can expect from the new Scotsman podcast series FutureWork in partnerships with Skills Development Scotland.