Investment by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in Caithness and Sutherland during 2024-25 helped the organisation to meet or exceed 18 of its 20 key targets. The figures compiled by the agency are subject to review by Audit Scotland before publication of HIE's annual report in November.
Two public organisations have signed a partnership agreement committing them to work together to accelerate the UK's transition to clean energy. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Aberdeen based Great British Energy (GBE) signed the agreement in Inverness on Thursday 31 July during a GBE visit to the region.
UKAEA has launched the International Fellowships Scheme, an initiative to help expand the global talent pool supporting the fusion industry. The scheme is part of the UKAEA's Fusion Opportunities in Skills, Training, Education and Research (FOSTER) Programme, which aims to train, support, and empower the next generation of professionals, who will help deliver fusion power to the grid.
As part of the Fusion Futures (FF) programme, UKAEA's Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) has partnered with industry leaders to develop two groundbreaking technologies for remote maintenance in fusion energy engineering. Thanks to FF funding, industry has taken the lead in maturing UKAEA technology concepts—delivering real-world solutions that enhance operational autonomy and reduce maintenance burdens in extreme environments.
Figures compiled by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) show strong outturns against key targets for the agency during the 2024/25 financial year. The figures, which are subject to review by Audit Scotland before publication of HIE's annual report in November, show that the agency met or exceeded 18 of its 20 key targets.
People in the Wick area of Caithness are being invited to share their views on proposals to expand Wick Business Park. Following the successful development of phase one, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is planning a second phase of development on land next to the existing business park.
Wick Business Park has welcomed wind energy technology company ENERCON as the first occupant of one of four new units completed last year. ENERCON specialises in designing, producing, installing and servicing onshore wind turbines and has been operating in the Caithness area since 2013.
A project to recycle waste at an aquaculture hatchery in Wester Ross has secured up to £630,290 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Bakkafrost Scotland limited is leading the project, which has a total investment value of more than £2.5m.
The NDA has published its strategy for consultation, setting out the roadmap to decommission the UK's earliest nuclear sites safely, securely and sustainably. Today, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has published its revised strategy for public consultation, setting out a clear roadmap for one of the UK's most complex long-term environmental challenges.
Many people want to save and help their community by making funds available at good rates from a local entity such as Hi-Scot Credit Union that covers Highland and Islands. Credit Unions encourage savings as well as offering affordable borrowing but lets take a closer look.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has appointed new members to its Caithness and Sutherland team as the agency settles into its new premises and works to expand its client portfolio. Claire Wilson has joined as head of business growth and investment.
Businesses in the Highlands and Islands are invited to apply to the 2025/26 Scottish Rural Leadership Programme. The initiative is designed to empower rural business owners and senior leaders across Scotland with the skills, confidence and strategic insight needed to drive innovation and growth in their communities.
The Scottish Government has begun recruitment to appoint a new Chair for the Board of development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Applications are currently being invited through the government's public appointments website with a closing date of 7 July 2025.
Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, has officially opened Aurora's pioneering Renewable Energy Training Centre in Inverness - the only facility of its kind serving the Highlands. The £1.2m training centre has already demonstrated its importance to Scotland's net-zero ambitions, training to more than 1,000 people in its first year and gearing up to train more than 2,000 workers annually who will be central to the country's renewable energy future.
A multi-million pound investment is being made in one of Scotland's most strategically important ports. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will invest up to £24 million at Kishorn Port in the west Highlands to enhance its capacity and capabilities, with an expanded dry dock and land reclamation enabling the manufacture of floating offshore wind foundations.
A commercial diver training company in Argyll is exploring the potential to expand the business to include closed bell diver training. Dunoon based Professional Diving Academy (PDA) has secured £5,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to help cover associated market assessment consultancy costs.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found that one in ten people have no cash savings at all, and another 21% have less than £1,000 to draw on in an emergency. The regulator's research also shows that one in four people in the UK have low financial resilience, meaning that they have missed payments, are struggling to keep up with commitments, or don't have savings to help them through difficulties.
NDA announces Catriona Schmolke CBE FREng and Dr Neil Bruce OBE CEng as NDA Board members. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has announced that Catriona Schmolke CBE FREng and Dr Neil Bruce OBE CEng have been appointed to the NDA Board as Non-Executive Board members.
The new, state-of-the-art Technology and Innovation Centre at UHI North, West and Hebrides' Stornoway campus officially opened following a £2.3m investment. It is the first capital project to be delivered under the Islands Growth Deal, a ten-year package that seeks to drive economic growth and the creation of sustainable jobs across Shetland, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides.
More than 30 of the region's businesses are took centre stage at the UK's biggest renewable energy exhibition and conference at Glasgow’s SEC 14-15 May. Global experts, academics and innovators gathered at the annual All-Energy exhibition and conference to advance Scotland’s goal of net zero and achieving a sustainable future.