How can I create opportunities for local SMEs in my construction project?

Strengthening local workforce participation in construction projects is one of the key principles of Community Wealth Building in Scotland, ‘increasing fair work and developing local labour markets that support the strength, cohesiveness and resilience of communities’.

To create meaningful opportunities for local SMEs within your construction project, it is essential to set clear targets for local procurement.

Procurement and commissioning is the first step to creating opportunities for SMEs.

At SCAPE Scotland, our suite of frameworks are designed to support and enable the delivery of social value through robust KPIs for local labour, local spend and SME engagement. Minimum standards are defined by our public sector clients on a project-by-project basis, ensuring requirements are proportionate and responsive to local challenges, opportunities and policy priorities. This flexible approach allows our delivery partners to prioritise local businesses, support SME participation within the supply chain, and maximise community wealth in a way that is meaningful, achievable and aligned with client objectives.

Lowering the barriers to entry for SMEs, social enterprises and microbusinesses is paramount. Together with our delivery partners, we regularly host regional supply chain engagement events, to demystify the tendering process, provide guidance on bid preparation, and encourage local SMEs to participate.

By engaging with these networks early, main contractors can proactively match locally skilled suppliers and trades to relevant work packages, and ensure that contract values and scopes are accessible to the region’s smaller firms.

Fair work practices are key to creating lasting opportunities for SMEs within a healthy, resilient supply chain, starting with fair payment.

SCAPE’s Fair Payment Standard ensures that the supply chain is paid promptly and in full, supporting cashflow stability. This enables healthy businesses to reinvest, train, hire, and expand. As locally rooted SMEs start to scale up, this also keeps money in the local economy and supports regional growth.

We set a solid and transparent fair payment standards, not only as our duty to report payment practices and performance, but to promote more cooperative supply chains and drive industry standards forward.

Recognising the vital role SMEs play in our economy, we actively create opportunities for small and micro-businesses to grow and succeed through SCAPE Scotland’s social impact initiatives. Read more about our commitment to making a difference in our communities in SCAPE's Social Value Benchmarking Report and our Community Legacy Programme Report.