Strategy for Jobs

We want our residents to be proud of Edinburgh a confident, creative and inspiring capital city powering growth and jobs for the City Region and Scotland a city whose quality of life and commitment to sustainability draws talent and investment from around the world a city where the public, private and voluntary sectors collaborate with common purpose and ultimately a city which puts all of its people at the heart of its economic success. To help us fully understand the challenges we carried out detailed research on the economy. Together with the Edinburgh Business Forum, we consulted widely with local business and our partners. We took a clear strategic approach and developed four interconnected priorities. The first of these programmes drives forward investment in the city’s development and regeneration focusing on four main development zones and the infrastructure to support them. These zones include West Edinburgh around the airport, the Waterfront in Leith and Granton the City Centre and South-East Edinburgh around the Royal Infirmary. Projects such as the Edinburgh BioQuarter and Atria One alongside the Edinburgh International Conference Centre are providing an ever impressive commercial profile for the city. This development was a great opportunity to move our three Edinburgh offices under one roof in one modern location. Atria suits us perfectly, and for a variety of reasons. We’re right in the heart of the financial centre with good transport links for our staff and our clients and are surrounded by a range of different amenities. The building is modern with open floorplates; the space is open and bright and the views across to the Castle are a bonus. The fact that the Council is investing in prime city centre locations in the current climate is great and can only be good for business. The team at Brewin Dolphin is very much looking forward to moving in next year. We now turn to the Edinburgh Waterfront to see how our work in development and regeneration can benefit all of the community. I've been involved in the regeneration of the Waterfront at the Forth quarter in Granton. The redevelopment is bringing in job and training opportunities as well as environmental improvements which are very important to the local community. Examples of how the partners have worked together include a waterfront recruitment office the construction academy at Telford College, and a new promenade right along the coast. All in all, we're working together to create a truly sustainable community at Edinburgh's waterfront. The second way in which we will support jobs is to encourage new inward investment. By using our well-established international connections promoting investment opportunities to business visitors and creating competitive packages for new investors we can make Edinburgh stand out as an international hub for business. We all know that Edinburgh is an important player in the financial sector, not only for the UK but on an international level. But this was only one of the reasons why we decided to invest here. We’re planning to create 500 jobs so why build a software development centre in Edinburgh? Mostly because of the people. The quality and skills of the Edinburgh professionals fit our requirements. We know that we can find the right people for Avaloq within Scotland. Coming over from our base in Zurich given the tight time schedule was challenging. We noticed that the council is fully backing investment into the city. The service they provided has been of real, real help from introducing us to the financial community to using their specialist and local knowledge in our relocation from Switzerland. It’s important for a city to always be improving its offering to investors, and we have received positive messages from everyone we have met all along the way. We’re still convinced that bringing our business to Edinburgh was the right decision and we’re taking great pride in knowing that we will be supporting local firms and creating local jobs. The third area of focus will help the city’s businesses grow so that they can create and retain jobs. We will help new firms to start provide support to established businesses and assist entrepreneurs with the potential to become innovative, fast growing companies. For us it was a simple decision but it was one based on experience and research. We can’t think of a better place to do business Edinburgh has a brilliant professional workforce. Apart from the fact we all live here in the city and we love it when it comes to finding a place to base your business then finding the right people to work with you is crucial. Edinburgh is full of bright, creative people. I’m sure our rapid growth is down to the quality of our energetic and committed team. I'm fully behind the Council's moves to expand their support and I think that their Strategy to support small firms entrepreneurs and start ups is absolutely essential. We want to create jobs and support the city we call home. Our company fits perfectly with the City's low carbon development vision and we are keen to share our ideas and experience with other companies wanting to take advantage of this exciting new market. We’ve got the support we double our sales every year and now feel proud of the work we do here knowing that we're contributing to the success of the city and its people Our fourth programme will help unemployed people into work or learning. We will continue to provide people with the skills our employers need in the labour market of the 21st century by maintaining a bold, joined-up approach to delivering support with a strong emphasis on young people through initiatives such as the Edinburgh Guarantee. Things weren’t easy for me to begin with. I left school with few qualifications and I couldn’t get my foot on the jobs ladder. That’s all changed though and I’m now being supported through training by my employer. I had heard that the Council has a programme of direct help for people who find themselves unemployed and who can’t get into further education. It was from here that the Council’s Community Benefit strategy used its links to find me that placement with Sir Robert McAlpine. I did a two week trial and they offered me the job full time it’s been brilliant. The company are now supporting me as I train for my Civil Engineering qualification at Telford College and I feel I’ve been given the best possible start in moving my career forward. That makes it easier for people like me who are just waiting for the chance to give something back to the city. Working with our partners such as The Edinburgh Business Forum and the Edinburgh Partnership the Council is committed to ensuring that the city’s economy delivers increased investment jobs and opportunities for all. By taking a focused approach we can realise this ideal and help shape a city in which we can prosper together.