Scottish Government is in need of training

I hope and trust you enjoyed a good Christmas with fine presents. Those in the local media certainly deserve them. Unlike many of your colleagues in national broadcasting and media, locally-based journalists have displayed fairness, respect and even-handedness to communities.

Over recent Christmases, my wife decided that I needed training to become a more interesting person. Her first present was to send me on a day’s wine-tasting course. An excellent choice of which I remember little having consumed 15 wine samples over an extended lunch.

Another Christmas, I attended a weekend course on stained glass. Excellent and enjoyable training, even although I returned with plasters on each finger.

There is a real problem for people leading organisations to be given or even willing to undergo training. When you’re top of the pinnacle, it’s assumed you know it all. From the leader’s point of view, any hint or indication that she/he could benefit from tutoring may be seen as a weakness.

Not having depth of knowledge in leadership can be very costly to an organisation or even country. Mistakes in defence issues, health provision, pension policy, welfare benefits have and are costing lives.

I am hoping Christmas presents will continue into New Year resolutions.

It would be good if generous, highly knowledgeable specialists, trainers and coaches offer their services at no cost.

And that Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, and her senior ministers and secretaries of state, will drop their ‘know it all’ approach and undergo appropriate and significant training.

Hopefully, that would save us, the taxpayers, having to spend unnecessary millions of pounds on ferries, unopened new hospitals and IT systems that don’t work.

Finlay Craig, Cove.