We will engage with Shetland’s Business and Community Resilience Forums, to help sectors plan for changes arising from post-EU withdrawal trading arrangements, as well as manage post-pandemic recovery and renewal.
In this last year, what was the Business Resilience Forum has transitioned into the Shetland Business Forum and now meets quarterly with meetings based around a specific topic or issue. Topics have included recruitment and retention of staff, and developing the young workforce, with the most recent meeting agendas focusing on Shetland’s Energy Development Principles and the refresh of Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s Strategic Plan.
The Shetland Community Resilience Forum, established at the outset of the pandemic to provide community organisations with regular updates on the public sector’s response to COVID-19 and the means to feedback on community issues, is no longer meeting but evidence of that community engagement continues.
A recent example is the Shetland Community Development Groups' event organised by the council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) that took place in the Bigton Hall in October 2022. The day included presentations from three development groups about their journey from getting started to delivering a wide range of outcomes for their communities, and inputs from visiting speakers Development Trust Association Scotland, Communities Housing Trust, Tomintoul and Glenlivet Development Trust. Workshops followed covering community tourism, getting started with community development and learning from delivering community development, including looking at the future role of community development groups. The council and HIE will look to take forward some of the ideas suggested at the event in partnership with development groups, such as creating a map of development groups, running follow-up focused workshops and learning events.