Tag: Deloitte

Craigmount pupils put business skills to the test in Dragons’ Den style competition

The groups pitched their ideas to a panel of judges, including teachers and senior Deloitte partners

Pupils from an Edinburgh secondary school put their business skills to the test last week in an attempt to win over judges in a Dragon’s Den style competition hosted by Deloitte.

Six ‘Pupil Action Groups’ (PAGs) from Craigmount High School, made up of pupils from S1 to S6, have been working throughout 2024 on proposals for the school to tackle major issues, including sustainability, mental health, equalities, equity, digital learning and children’s rights.

The groups pitched to a panel of judges, including teachers and senior Deloitte partners, at Deloitte’s new offices in Haymarket. They competed to secure support for their proposed initiatives, including the creation of a Mental Health Festival, the development of a school newspaper and the purchase of reusable water bottles.

Craigmount High School is one of Deloitte’s partner schools through its 5 Million Futures Programme, which helps people overcome barriers to education and employment.

Working with schools and charities, Deloitte mobilises its people through volunteering, fundraising and pro-bono work to build better futures for people throughout the UK.

On the day, the pupils that make up Craigmount’s Charities and Equity PAG were named the Most Impactful Group and the school’s Sustainability PAG was awarded Best Group Presentation.

Deloitte also presented an award for Most Effective Individual Presentation to Imaiyal (S2) from the Equalities PAG, who reflected on her group’s efforts to champion equality in Craigmount’s community. Their work involved holding a bake sale during Transgender Awareness Week and organising a dress down day to raise money during Women’s History Month.  

Imaiyal said: “I’m really happy to be recognised for my hard work to help improve equality at my school.

“I had a really good time at the Deloitte offices for the Dragons’ Den competition and I enjoyed working with my school friends to figure out how we can solve these big problems.”

Lesley Smillie, Partner, Public Sector at Deloitte in Scotland, said: “We were really pleased to welcome pupils from Craigmount High to share their visions for the future.

“We were so impressed by the pupils’ presentations – it’s really encouraging to see their passion and enthusiasm to solve the various important issues we discussed.”

Alison Clark, Deputy Headteacher, Craigmount High, said: “I’m very proud of our Pupil Action Groups who have worked so hard this year to improve our school and community.

“I’d also like to thank our partners at Deloitte for hosting this competition, which has given our pupils the chance to develop and demonstrate their communication skills and teamwork. We look forward to continuing to work together in the future.”

Fraser of Allander Institute: Scotland likely to enter recession as costs continue to rise

Scotland’s economy is likely to contract in the second half of 2022, according to researchers at the Fraser of Allander Institute. The Institute’s quarterly Economic Commentary, which includes an assessment of all the key latest data on the UK and Scottish economies, was published last week.

In the Deloitte-sponsored Economic Commentary, the Strathclyde researchers have set out their new forecasts for the Scottish Economy.

The economists are forecasting growth of 3.6% in 2022, followed by a contraction of -0.6% in 2023, before returning to growth in 2024 of 0.8%. This is a significant revision down from the Institute’s previous set of forecasts in June.

The forecasts assume that the last two quarters of the year, and the first quarter of 2023, will show contractions in the economy due to wider economic challenges. This means that Scotland is likely to be entering into a recession (defined as two quarters of negative growth in the economy).

With inflation at a 40-year high, this quarter’s Commentary also includes extensive analysis of the likely impact of price rises on different types of households in the economy.

Professor Mairi Spowage, Director of the Institute, said “The data we analyse in the Commentary today points to weakening demand in the economy as inflationary pressures pervade every aspect of our lives.

“Consumer confidence is starting to weaken with attitudes on the outlook looking pessimistic. This has led us to reduce our forecasts for 2023 and 2024. Our assumption is that there will likely be contractions in the economy during the second half of 2022 and into 2023 given wider economic conditions.

“In practice, this means Scotland is likely to enter a recession.”

Angela Mitchell, senior partner for Deloitte in Scotland, said “There is no doubt that businesses in Scotland face significant challenges over the next few years. Many business leaders have never navigated their business, and its people, through a period of such high inflation and weakening economic activity.

“Charities and public bodies, unable to pass on costs or pivot plans like businesses, are also facing immense pressure. The dual blows of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis are having a profound impact on the public sector’s spend power, while simultaneously driving huge demand for public services.

“Unlike during the pandemic, however, there is an opportunity to plan and prepare now for the months ahead. Business leaders will naturally want to focus on responding to the most immediate challenges, but they should also consider what they want their business to look like beyond the current challenges. Longer-term thinking, building in resilience and working towards creating an organisation that is fit for the future, will help businesses not only to recover, but to thrive.”

Also in the Commentary in this edition, the researchers have published an analysis of what the UK Government’s fiscal event on Friday 23rd September could mean for Scotland.

The Deputy First Minister has committed to setting out an emergency budget soon after the UK Government’s fiscal event. The announcements made by the UK Government on tax mean that there are resources available to the Scottish Government to either follow suit – or to invest the additional funding in services.

David Eiser, the institute’s Deputy Director, said “The UK Government’s “mini-budget” was anything but mini – the measures announced were very significant.

“The scale of fiscal changes – without any analysis of the sustainability of such measures – has created significant concern in the financial markets.

“The real surprises were on income tax, with significant changes announced for next financial year – albeit some subsequently reversed. Of course, these changes do not apply in Scotland, so it will be up to the Scottish Government to set out its proposed income tax policy for 2023/24 in due course.

“John Swinney has committed to producing an Emergency Budget in late October – although we should probably expect that the decision on income tax will not be set out until the Scottish Draft Budget is published. We now expect the UK Government to present their Medium Term Fiscal Plan and OBR forecasts also in late October, with the Scottish Budget likely to follow before the end of the year.”

You can read the full commentary here.