26th February 2004
First
Minister’s Personal Message to IBM’s Overseas Talent
First
Minister, Jack McConnell, has pledged to issue a personal invitation to IBM’s
overseas workers to “help us grow the Scottish economy.”
He
will visit the Greenock plant as part of the new “Fresh
Talent Initiative”, which aims to arrest Scotland’s population decline by
attracting the brightest overseas talent to live and work north of the border.
The
invitation was extended to Mr McConnell by MSP
for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil, during the launch
of the initiative in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.
Speaking
outside the Chamber, Mr McNeil said:
“Everyone
knows that Inverclyde faces all the challenges of a declining population.
“Some
overseas workers are already here, filling our skills gaps, spending money in
our economy and helping secure the long-term future of IBM.
But I want to know how we can convince more of them to settle down, start
families and help rejuvenate our local community.
“And,
of course, in a strong, dynamic economy, there will be far more opportunities
for high quality, high skill, secure jobs for local people.
“That
is why the First Minister’s pledge to come down here and personally encourage
IBM workers to stay on is so welcome.”
In
the Parliament earlier, Mr McNeil had asked the First Minister:
“Does
the First Minister agree that, if we are determined to make Scotland a
destination of choice for young talent, it is vital to understand what attracts
young people here and what pushes them away?
Where better to start such a dialogue than at IBM in Greenock, which
employs 1,000 foreign nationals? Those
people, who are all expert in information technology and have language skills,
are bridging the skills gap.
“Will
the First Minister come to talk with some of those workers and extend a personal
invitation to them to stay in Scotland?”
Mr
McConnell agreed, saying:
“I
would be delighted to take up that opportunity, not least because Gordon Smith
from IBM, who is the current president of the Confederation of British Industry
Scotland, was a member of the group that devised the proposals and gave us
considerable support.
“IBM
is a good example, partly because there are so many such workers there, but also
because IBM is in the heart of one of the few parts of urban Scotland that is
suffering the sort of population decline that is faced, for example, in the
Western Isles.
“I
would be delighted to visit IBM in Greenock and to use it as an example to
attract others to Scotland.”
The
Fresh Talent Initiative seeks to address our declining population by working to
attract the brightest new talent to Scotland.
IBM
is an ideal company from which the Executive can learn:
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