SCOTLAND’s push towards digital is an indelible shift in the make-up of the economy that shows no signs of slowing.
Now a digital tech consultancy – AND Digital – is launching a second Scottish “club” in Glasgow, after the rapid expansion of their first in Edinburgh, which opened last year.
The company works across a range of sectors, including financial services, media, telecomunications, retail, hospitality and the public sector.
It has 11 offices, which are known as “clubs” across the UK and has new premises which are set to open in Glasgow and Amsterdam next month.
The Glasgow club in George Square will bid to replicate what the Edinburgh office has achieved by creating 100 new tech jobs for analysts, developers and designers across a range of levels over the next 12 months.
AND Digital said its people-first approach helps businesses close their digital skills gaps by working with clients to build their digital products, upskill their staff and deepen their broader digital capabilities. The launch of the new Digital Strategy for Scotland highlighted the dramatic acceleration of digital business models during the pandemic, and found that overall 73% of businesses have shifted to digital to provide goods and services.
Companies were forced to rapidly do things that their transformation roadmaps had indicated would take many months, or even years.
The report emphasised the challenges posed by the digital skills gap in Scotland being magnified by Covid-19.
It also identified sectoral skills gaps relating to digital technology and raised the importance and urgency of further digital transformation across the Scottish economy.
Paramjit Uppal, CEO and founder of AND Digital, said: “Scottish businesses have shown tremendous grit and determination over the past 12 months as they have sought to reconcile their business models to the difficulties posed by the pandemic.
“However, we’ve been fortunate to work with clients of all shapes and sizes who have pivoted towards the new opportunities digital offers.
“Scotland is an important market for us and we are confident in its very bright future. Glasgow is the obvious next step for us.”
Uppal added: “We launched our Edinburgh club at the cusp of the first lockdown and have built it from the ground up working remotely as a club and with our clients.
“While we look forward to reopening our club houses and seeing each other in person when it is safe to do so, we are well placed to launch Glasgow to our blended working environment. It works for us and our clients.”
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