26 . Glasgow Business February 2017
GLASGOW’S ECONOMIC
STRATEGY 2016-2023
Bold plan to ensure every citizen shares in opportunities T
he striking ambition of Glasgow to be “the most productive major city economy in the UK” has been boldly set out in the city’s Economic
Strategy 2016-2023. In launching the strategy, the Leader of
Glasgow City Council, Councillor Frank McAveety, described the document as a social prospectus as much as an economic one. He said Glasgow has been transformed in recent years, becoming a vibrant, modern urban hub but that not every citizen shared in this success. “Our new economic strategy seeks to build
upon this progress. It is responsive to the specific challenges that modern day Glasgow faces, but retains the same sense of ambition which underpinned the growth of recent years,” he said. He said the Economic Strategy, a
collaboration between Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Glasgow City Council and the Glasgow Economic Leadership, opened with an unabashedly bold objective – to make Glasgow the most productive city economy in the UK. “Our workforce is young, skilled and
ambitious. We have infrastructure in place that makes us a desirable destination to do business in, visit and set up home. However, we know there is potential to do much more. By working in partnership with the public, private and academic sectors – and crucially with the citizens of Glasgow – we have created an economic strategy which seeks a fundamental improvement in the city’s productivity.” Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Chair of the
Councillor Frank McAveety, Leader of Glasgow City Council
Glasgow Economic Leadership, and Principal of Strathclyde University, added his response, saying Glasgow has to maximise investment and skills in key sectors, such as low-carbon industries, engineering, life sciences, finance and business services, tourism and events and higher education. “While we have one of the highest
degree-holding populations of any UK city, too many of our citizens have low or no qualifications. We must seek to connect those furthest from the labour market into work, to continue our work to regenerate our poorest communities and support enterprise and infrastructure investment in the city.”
”We must seek to connect those furthest from the labour market into work, to continue our work to regenerate our poorest communities and support enterprise and infrastructure investment in the city”
Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Glasgow Economic Leadership Chair
Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive of Glasgow
Chamber of Commerce, spoke of the business community’s support for the economic strategy. He said that it explicitly addressed the issue of too many Glaswegians missing out on the benefits of growth. “Whether it is through ill-health,
a lack of skills or a physical disconnection from opportunities, there are many reasons why a significant proportion of our fellow citizens have not shared in the success. Te business community in Glasgow understands that these problems fundamentally have to be tackled. Te damage done is not just to formal productivity statistics, troubling though these are, but also to the trust in the economic model upon which our business success is based.” Ten key themes emerged from the report
but in essence it is about addressing the imbalance between those who have benefited from Glasgow’s spectacular recent success and those who have been excluded by ill-health, lack of education or levels of poverty.
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