Fife Wins Prestigious Title of ‘Most Enterprising Place in Britain’

Fife Council welcomes recognition as the region is crowned the ‘Most Enterprising Place in Britain’ by the UK Government, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in this year’s Enterprising Britain Awards.

Fife has been named as winner in two categories, the ‘Promoting Entrepreneurial Spirit’ category and overall winner award, marking exceptional economic successes within mid-Fife.

The awards celebrate Fife Council’s achievements in supporting young people to develop entrepreneurial skills and get into education, training or employment and for creating an environment and programmes that are helping businesses grow.

These accolades highlight the strength of new town Glenrothes, now in its 70th year, which has undergone enterprise-led regeneration, transitioning from a period of economic challenge to one with a strong business-base and industrial innovation.

Fife Council is praised for joint working between its Economy, Planning & Employability and Education & Children’s Services, and with the Fife Economy Partnership (FEP).

Fife Council’s innovative Culture of Enterprise Framework connects the school curriculum, employability and local businesses to provide young people with the tools to develop enterprise skills – including innovation, problem solving, creativity and confidence. Fife’s Enterprise Learning Journey is benefiting school pupils (primary and secondary), young adults and business leaders.

Scottish Government Fife Task Force funding and joint working to move the local economy forward and create jobs and modern, business-friendly infrastructure, including an Enterprise Hub in Glenrothes, is also recognised. The Hub offers a up ‘one-stop-shop’ approach to providing business services and has enabled Fife to host the first Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES) Female Leadership Programme – encouraging diversity in entrepreneurship.

Jamie Hepburn, Scottish Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills, said: “This is welcome news for Fife and demonstrates the effectiveness of the strong working relationship between the Scottish Government, Fife Council and the Fife Economy Partnership to enable inclusive economic growth. The Scottish Government has provided £6 million worth of support to Fife through the Fife Task Force which has delivered enterprise initiatives and business growth projects, such as the Business Resilience Programme and the Glenrothes Enterprise Hub, and will provide modern industrial premises for business, such as the Levenmouth Business Units and Queensway Business Units. The Scottish Government continues to work alongside Fife Council to maximise the area’s undoubted potential.”

Fife Council’s co-leaders, Cllr David Alexander and Cllr David Ross, said: “These awards show what can be achieved by applying an innovative approach to supporting businesses. We are fully committed to continually improving the prospects for our young workforce and in supporting the growth of enterprise across Fife.

“We are delighted that Fife is rightfully getting recognition for creating an excellent environment to support our business community to develop and grow, which, in turn, are creating quality opportunities for our local communities.

“Fife Council and its business partners continue to work tirelessly to create fairer economic growth, where everyone benefits, provide good employment opportunities and secure investment in the region.”

Bob Garmory, Chair of Developing the Young Workforce Fife, added: “Fife is closely linking education and learning with employers to help us develop our young workforce, get more young people into education, training and employment, and empower future business leaders.”

The Fife Economy Partnership (FEP) supports Fife Council by securing private sector collaboration to stimulate local economic growth.

Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst, who named the Enterprising Britain Awards winners today, said: “I’m proud to see such a wealth of talent, creativity and innovation in Fife being recognised at the Enterprising Britain Awards. With more than 340,000 small businesses in Scotland, entrepreneurialism is thriving.

“The UK has some of the most entrepreneurial and innovative minds in the world delivering good jobs, growth and greater choice for consumers and, through our modern Industrial Strategy, we are building a Britain in which small business continues to thrive.”