Scottish businesses reveal their top priorities for 2026
“Scottish businesses are putting people at the centre of their investment plans” – Martyn Kendrick, BoS
Scottish businesses are putting skills at the heart of their new year plans, with nearly half focused on training staff alongside major investment in technology and productivity, a key study has revealed.
In the year ahead, some 46 per cent of firms north of the Border will be focusing on upskilling workers, according to the findings of the latest Bank of Scotland Business Barometer.
Meanwhile, 44 per cent of the businesses quizzed by the bank will be looking to enhance their use of technology during the course of 2026, and more than a third (37 per cent) will be looking to improve their productivity.
Reflecting their priority areas, upskilling staff (42 per cent) is the area where Scottish businesses say they would most value extra support to achieve their 2026 goals, along with technology enhancements (30 per cent). Just over a quarter (27 per cent) would also value help with improving their environmental sustainability.
The Business Barometer, which surveys some 1,200 businesses monthly and has been running since 2002, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.
Martyn Kendrick, Scotland director at Bank of Scotland Commercial Banking, said: “Scottish businesses are putting people at the centre of their investment plans - something that will benefit the national economy, as well as their own growth aspirations.
“Whatever businesses’ ambitions for 2026, we’ll be ready to provide our support to help them achieve their goals,” he added.
The survey comes after it emerged earlier in December that Scottish business confidence had picked up in November despite private sector output cooling.
While conditions remained challenging for many businesses, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) regional growth tracker signalled a notable uplift in confidence regarding future output.
When asked about their expectations for activity over the year ahead, Scottish companies were “strongly optimistic” during November. Upbeat forecasts were often underpinned by plans of introducing new products and services and hopes of improved overall demand conditions, RBS noted.
The headline tracker registered 48 in November, down from 49 the month before. Any reading below 50 points to contraction, while over 50 denotes expansion.
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