Rural Leadership Programme - applications are open

21st July 2021

For the 5th year running HIE has joined forces with SE and SOSE to fund the RLP, which is aimed at business managers and employees from rural businesses (both private/social enterprises), who have a desire to develop their leadership skills and grow their business. In previous years farmers and land-based consultancies have dominated the cohorts, HIE are keen to promote the opportunity to rural businesses across the sectoral mix we have in our rural economy. We would like the H&I cohort to represent the diversity of our rural businesses and are keen to see food and drink, tourism, and some of our significant community land owners, and social enterprises consider this as an opportunity.

The programme will be facilitated by Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) Consulting and will be delivered face to face (as COVID-19 restrictions allow) and virtually through an engaging interactive format. Led by key experts in their field, the blended programme:

will be delivered over four days of face to face workshops, and over 25 hours of virtual workshops, team tasks, group discussion, around 20 hours self-directed learning and one-to-one coaching sessions over six months, and will run from October 2021 to March 2022, there will be four regional groups, each with 10 participants. Highland, North East, East and South East, South West Scotland, with opportunities to come together as one large group for later workshops.

The application deadline is the 23rd of August '21. Attached is the promotional flyer that outlines the programme details, cost and application process and webinar information. Additional information can also be accessed on both HIE and SE websites.

Communities Leading in Tourism - applications are open
As rural Scotland's local economies look to rebuild in the face of a global pandemic, we now more than ever need a place-based community-led approach to recovery. This programme provides an opportunity -

for communities to engage and shape the future of local tourism and to share the value and benefits.

What is it?

Communities Leading in Tourism is a personal development programme which will give you, and your community organisation, the knowledge and leadership skills you'll need to influence, plan and manage sustainable tourism recovery for the benefit of your community.

With three successful cohorts from across the Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland under our belts, we're expanding the network Scotland wide. The programme is part of the Scottish Tourism Leadership Programme, and brings the community and tourism sector together to maximise local tourism opportunities. It is delivered by the Social Enterprise Academy on behalf of the Scottish Government, HIE, South of Scotland Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland.

Applications for our fourth cohort of up to 30 people from across Scotland is now open. It starts in the last week of September.

Who is it for?

If you are working or volunteering with community organisations and/or social enterprises with an interest in tourism, this programme could be for you. As places are limited, we’ll be looking for aspiring future leaders from across rural Scotland who can demonstrate:

how taking part will help you deliver long term local benefit; and
that you can commit to the full programme.

More information is available on the following link, including a course overview (with dates), details on what is involved and the link to apply:
www.hie.co.uk/communitiesleadingintourism

 

Related Businesses

 

Related Articles

16/7/2026 : Visitor Attractions

John O'Groats Distillery Wins International Success with Scottish Enterprise Support

One of Caithness's newest success stories is proving that location is no barrier to reaching customers around the world.   8 Doors Distillery in John O'Groats, Scotland's most northerly mainland whisky distillery, is expanding into international markets with support from Scottish Enterprise and Team Scotland, demonstrating how businesses from the far north can compete on the global stage.  

8/7/2026 : Advisory / Counseling Services

How Rural Job Creation Actually Works

Rural job creation is one of the most misunderstood parts of economic development.  Politicians talk about “hundreds of jobs created”, enterprise agencies publish glossy figures, and press releases celebrate “transformational investment”.  

8/7/2026 : Advisory / Counseling Services

Fixing Enterprise Job Reporting: A Blueprint for Honesty, Accuracy, and Rural Reality

Enterprise agencies in Scotland have spent decades publishing glossy numbers about “jobs created” and “jobs retained”.  As the Highlands knows all too well, these figures often bear little resemblance to what actually happens on the ground.  

8/7/2026 : Advisory / Counseling Services

How Enterprise Agencies Inflate Job Numbers

Enterprise agencies in Scotland — Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), and the South of Scotland Enterprise regularly publish impressive sounding figures about “jobs created”, “jobs retained”, and “economic impact”.  These numbers appear in annual reports, ministerial speeches, and press releases.  

25/6/2026 : Advisory / Counseling Services

Annual investment shows size of economic opportunity in the Highlands and Islands

More than £50m of additional public investment was attracted to the Highlands and Islands last year by the region’s development agency.   Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) almost doubled its £53m opening budget from the start of financial year 2025/26, delivering an annual spend of £105m to create hundreds of jobs and grow the regional economy.  

19/6/2026 : Advisory / Counseling Services

 
OWGP signs Memorandum of Understanding with HIE at Global Offshore Wind

The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with HIE at Global Offshore Wind 2026, marking a shared commitment to strengthen the offshore wind supply chain in Scotland.   The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with HIE at Global Offshore Wind 2026, marking a shared commitment to strengthen the offshore wind supply chain in Scotland.  

17/6/2026 : Advisory / Counseling Services

The Salmon Nobody Wants to Name: Why Consumers Are Turning Away from Scottish Farmed Fish and Why Agencies Pretend It’s Just “Aquaculture”

A press release from Highlands and Islands set us digging - see it at the bottom of this article.   Something strange is happening in Scotland’s salmon industry, and it’s not the kind of thing you’ll find in a government press release.  

14/6/2026 : Local Authority

How Caithness Can Strengthen Its Case for Major Capital Investment in an Era of Shrinking Budgets

Caithness has reached a moment where the old assumptions about public investment no longer hold.  For decades, the region could rely on a three‑pillar system: HIE to drive economic development, Scottish Enterprise and national programmes to support growth, and Highland Council to deliver the infrastructure that underpins daily life.  

14/6/2026 : Advisory / Counseling Services

When the Money Moves South: How HIE’s Shrinking Budget Has Hit Caithness and Why “Record Funding” Doesn’t Mean What It Used To

For decades, Highlands and Islands Enterprise was the economic backbone of the far north.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was one of the few institutions that understood the basic truth of life in Caithness: distance costs money, and if the state doesn’t step in, the market won’t.  

26/5/2026 : Advisory / Counseling Services

 
Argyll firm secures funding for halibut farming commercial development project

Otter Ferry Seafish Ltd is aiming to demonstrate that juvenile halibut can be grown successfully and commercially in sea cages in Scottish waters.   A £97,400 aquaculture research and development project in Argyll, is aiming to demonstrate that juvenile halibut can be grown successfully and commercially in sea cages in Scottish waters.