www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com 11 CHIEF EXECUTIVE


Glasgow must respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution


Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive chiefexecutive@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com


we are having to get our minds around the implications for Glasgow of technological disruption. On the one hand, we need to respond to the international trading challenges arising from leaving the European Union, while on the other we need to understand and deal with the radical changes caused by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The ubiquity of super-computing and the cloud, the increasing use of intelligent robots, the arrival of self-driving cars and other autonomous vehicles, and the unzipping of the genome and the advances in healthcare are all arriving on our Glasgow doorsteps. The speed and scale is unlike anything we have previously experienced. While creative people are able to develop products and


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services more quickly and cheaply than before, traditional business models must be prepared for change too. The wider societal issue is what impact this radical change will have on Glasgow – and are we doing enough to embrace such change? There are genuine fears from some quarters that we create a digital world where there is less high-quality work, while optimists predict better kinds of work and more quality leisure time. Whatever the outcomes, Glasgow businesses will need to adapt to survive and keep their international channels open. I pondered much of this on


e face two major disruptions over the coming 12 months. We’ve heard a great deal about Brexit and the serious implications it may have for the UK economy. However, increasingly


my recent trip to our Chinese twin city Dalian, where we met with the local chamber of commerce. I discovered a city with seven million people that is highly advanced, with ship- building, automotive, heavy and machine tool engineering. It might not be a well-known Chinese city, but it can be one good platform for trade because of the 30-year twinning of our two cities.


For the Chamber, it is a great point of entry where we can build on willing relationships. At the heart of making this connection work is ensuring that Glasgow’s narrative is well articulated and understood by those seeking to do trade with us. Our vibrant and brilliant city is robust and resilient enough to deal with the dramatic changes of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We have demonstrated that we have a flexible workforce that is intellectually capable of understanding the challenges and stepping up to meet them. We have a world-class higher education sector working in collaboration with Team Glasgow to define and exploit the opportunities. The core strengths and knowledge of our science and medical institutions are a rallying point, while Barclays’ decision to build its technology hub on the Clyde is proof of the quality of our current workforce. We must continue to make the most of this in the year ahead. We need to keep repeating our


story and talking ourselves up. Our workforce has to be primed and ready. That’s why I’ve called for City Deal II, to home in on the new emerging industries in science and technology, build on the innovation districts our universities are promoting, develop the


transport and digital systems we need for operating an intelligent city and invest heavily in the next generation of skills we will need. The Fourth Industrial Revolution will be more apparent to us in 2019. It needs to be front of our minds – and we need to ensure that our human resources are ready.


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