60 SECONDS WITH Name: Ewan Barry Company Name: Tete-a-Tete Photo Job Title: Photographer/Partner Q In five words or less, what does your organisation do? A Shoot photographs to promote businesses.
Q How long have your been in your current role? A This will be our 15th year in business
Q What does a week in your job look like? A It can be shooting a corporate event on location or headshots for a website in
the studio. We also run photo walks and workshops.
Q Where do you read your copy of Business Comment?
Q Your proudest moment with your organisation, or biggest ‘win’?
A I read it online now but I still have a collection of magazine back copies that include some of our Chamber Event Photos.
A The success of our Edinburgh Fringe Exhibitions -it’s personal work, but really just an extension of the photography we do for businesses -we’ve done seven now!
Q Your favourite top tip or quote in business? A A photography quote that could apply to business is :“F8 and be there”. It just means be prepared and take your opportunities.
Q How long have you been a member of the Chamber for and why did you join? A We’ve been members since 2010, and joined because it’s a great way of getting out there and meeting others in business.
GET WITH IT Julian Slater
Ewan Barry
By Bill Magee Scottish Business Technology Writer of the Year
The Digital Era has made it crystal clear age is of little relevance when it comes to discovering talent and developing in-demand skills. Nash Squared, formerly Harvey Nash, produces one of the world’s leading annual digital reports using Edinburgh as one of its global launchpads.
Another key is to invest in training and upskilling. One company recognised a significant software development skills requirement in four years’ time. They trained up existing software engineers and moved them into these roles at the right time.
Many business leaders spoken to reveal it’s harder than ever to recruit good IT specialists. It makes it difficult to keep up with the pace of change.
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Look outside the business for talent to be supported into a tech career. Individuals with the right aptitude, mindset and ambition will appreciate their chance and show loyalty in return.
Nash managing director Ronny Lammelen told ComputerWeekly.com an organisation should adopt a «flexibility first» policy. Rather than demanding «100 per cent fit - even 110 per cent» - to meet their experience-and-capability wish list.
It brings us onto age. Most sought-after candidates are 35-49, but organisations should not rule out the under 35s or over 50s.
Applying such a rigid approach means they’ll lose out in one or two ways: not finding that “perfect candidate”, or overpaying. Better to shift to 80 per cent, the other 20 per cent met through training, support and development once in the job.
Brilliant people can be found in both groups. One full of potential for the future, the other with invaluable experience and work knowhow (and still with a future!)
BC
December/January 2023
Oh, and when it comes to remote and hybrid working that sprang up during Covid: remember to balance an organisation’s needs with what your employees desire. This will doubly ensure you get the very best from them as part of a team. Whatever their age happens to be..