New MSP Simita Kumar visits Scottish Woodlands HQ
Scottish Woodlands welcomed Simita Kumar MSP to its Edinburgh HQ to discuss the company and the wider forestry and wood industry in Scotland.
Ms Kumar was elected as MSP for Edinburgh South Western in May's Scottish Parliament elections, and her constituency covers Scottish Woodlands' head office at Riccarton. She is also Minister for Equalities and International Development in the Scottish Government.
(Left to right) Charlotte Cavey-Wilcox, Simita Kumar MSP, Ian Robinson, Simon Oldham and Natasha Bruce
In a wide-ranging conversation, Managing Director Ian Robinson and colleagues discussed Scotland's £1 billion forestry and wood sector, the company's employee ownership structure, its Graduate Development Programme, and much more with the new MSP.
Mr Robinson was joined by Technical Director Simon Oldham, South-East Regional Manager Charlotte Cavey-Wilcox, and HR Adviser Natasha Bruce for the visit.
"We were delighted to welcome our new MSP to Scottish Woodlands, and we had a really positive and productive meeting," said Mr Robinson.
"Simita was very interested in the fact that we are 80% owned by our employees, and also very keen to know more about our Graduate Development Programme. We were able to show her our recent graduate video and explain how we are growing our own leaders of the future. We also talked about the challenges of recruiting young people because there is very little visibility of careers in forestry and wood in Scottish schools."
Mr Robinson added: "We also spoke about the wider forestry and wood industry in Scotland. Like many politicians, Simita was a little surprised by the scale and the complexity of our industry, which is worth £1.1 billion annually to the economy and supports almost 35,000 jobs. We also discussed meeting Forestry Minister Jim Fairlie recently to talk about increasing woodland creation rates - and told her about very constructive dialogue with him as part of a delegation from Confor, our trade body.
"We very much look forward to an ongoing positive relationship with Simita."
Simita Kumar MSP said: "I very much enjoyed meeting members of the team at Scottish Woodlands, and finding out more about an excellent local business."
"The employee ownership structure at Scottish Woodlands, and the way it nurtures and develops young talent, is hugely impressive. It was also really eye-opening to understand more about the scale and complexity of the forestry and wood industry in Scotland. I look forward to a continuing positive relationship with Scottish Woodlands and the wider industry over the coming years."