Transportation, high-tech manufacturing and nuclear decommissioning are among the issues which will be examined when board members and senior management of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) embark on a two-day working visit to Caithness and Sutherland this week (Monday 18/Tuesday 19 September).

Most HIE board meetings are held away from the development agency's Inverness headquarters to enable board members to gain a deeper understanding of the needs of individual local enterprise company areas.

Chief executive at Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise (CASE) Neil Money said: "The HIE board will have the opportunity to see a diverse range of businesses from smaller ones who are the life-blood of the local economy to larger inward investments which offer great potential for the future development of the area.

"They will also see the proposed site for an important new business park in Wick which is planned for next year as well as new training facilities which will help improve access to training in South-East Sutherland. These activities are important from both an economic and social perspective, helping to make the area a more competitive and increasingly attractive place to do business in the future."

Visits in and around Wick - a priority area for CASE will include a visit to Wick Airport which will highlight the strategic importance of effective air links for the local economy, especially in boosting efforts to attract inward investment. At Wick Harbour the group will see how upgrading of the slip has helped secure the future of a number of businesses in the harbour area.

A second group will concentrate on Sutherland with a visit to the Caledonian Curry Company in Bonar Bridge which supplies a number of Highland outlets, and at the Royal Dornoch Golf Club they will see how CASE have recently helped upgrade the Struie course, making it a fitting companion to its championship neighbour which is rated as one of the top 20 in the world.

In Dornoch, the group will visit Ross House - a newly set up outreach operation of the North Highland College. Here, a wide range of courses will be delivered including a number specifically aimed at working in tandem with the golfing sector which has been identified as offering excellent future growth potential for the area. Courses from greenkeeping to hospitality management in the golfing sector will be offered as well as business studies courses which have a strong tourism focus.

Both groups will converge in Thurso for a guided tour of specialist battery manufacturer AGM Batteries Ltd - a joint venture between AEA Technology plc, Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. This development represents the first Japanese inward investment in the Highlands and Islands.

The HIE board will meet the board of CASE where one of the topics for discussion will be the importance of the decommissioning of Dounreay and the potential benefits the process will bring to the Highland economy. An economic update on Caithness and Sutherland will also be provided.

The visits will be the last official engagements for HIE chief executive Iain Robertson who leaves at the end of September after a decade in charge. Sandy Cumming, the present director of growing businesses, will take over as acting chief executive.