Scottish factories see rise in orders as turning point – Daily Business

Factories have seen a glimmer of optimism

Scotland’s engineering plants have seen an upturn in orders after six negative quarters in what is seen as a turning point for the sector.

Investment in training was also at its most positive level in recent quarters, indicating a commitment to re-skilling.

More than a third (37%) of companies surveyed by trade group Scottish Engineering said they were prioritising reskilling existing staff.

Apprenticeships are also high on the agenda, with 24% of companies focused on modern apprentices and 6% prioritising graduate apprentices.

Scottish Engineering chief executive, Paul Sheerin, said: “Our first quarterly review of 2026 contains some genuine reasons for optimism, starting with orders without which business life remains tough for our companies.

“And it’s especially welcome to see the positive optimism amplified in the most important metric for our industry’s future – and highest level index for this quarter: training investment.

“On the eve of Scotland’s Apprenticeship Week, the value of those training pathways are underlined by this survey’s return that almost 40% of businesses identified upskilling and reskilling as their most important talent strategy.”

He said it was “a chance to remind ourselves that modern and graduate apprenticeships are equally well matched to embedding new skills in our current workforce every bit as much as school leavers.”