North Scotland facing digital marketing skills crisis, Looper says

Highland and north-east digital marketing businesses are crying out for universities to do more to tackle the deepening skills gap, an expert has warned.

Rene Looper, founder and managing director of Tuminds – which provides social media training programmes to businesses in the north – believes many universities have been slow to react to the evolution of marketing and offer courses that are no longer fit for purpose.

Inverness-based Tuminds works with the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to provide social media training programmes to businesses in the north.

The problem, in his view, is that universities are still teaching a more “traditional” style of marketing which pays lip service to digital technologies which have become important to firms.