Glasgow City Council today (31 October) approved the new Investment Strategy and Action Plan for the city, a ‘road map’ for Glasgow’s investment activities.
The strategy – for the period up until 2023 – sets out how Invest Glasgow and partners will work together to ensure that Glasgow is promoted as a sustainable location of choice for investors in order to bring more and better quality jobs, and to boost fair work and productivity.
A key feature of the new and more comprehensive strategy and action plan is the change from the former title of Inward Investment to Investment Strategy, in order to reflect the duel requirement to bring FDI (foreign direct investment) for jobs as well as capital for sustainable infrastructure and development to the city. Both are essential to support our key sectors and create the conditions for inclusive growth, as exemplified by the Barclays investment at Buchanan Wharf in Tradeston.
The new strategy has enabled Invest Glasgow to revisit and reset targets, with a good example being the revision of the jobs target in the strategy increasing from 10,000 to 15,000 – on the basis that between 2016 and 2019 more than 8,000 jobs have been created in Glasgow from inward investment, with this figure not including the bulk of the new Barclays jobs at Buchanan Wharf. This new target, despite the possible impact of Brexit, is nevertheless deemed achievable.
This new strategy – which was developed by the council and its partners – will support the fair work programme with a pledge to ensure that Glasgow encourages only those investors who are aligned with the city’s fair work principles including, but not limited to: no zero hours contracts; paying the Glasgow Living Wage as a minimum; and the pursuit of equality and job quality.
The Investment Strategy is an update of the inward investment strategy for the city that was launched in November 2016 as part of the Glasgow Economic Strategy, which saw the council’s Invest Glasgow team work with Scottish Development International (SDI) to attract FDI from key markets in Europe, North America and the Far East.
The new strategy sets out how Invest Glasgow and partners will work together to ensure that Glasgow is promoted as a sustainable location of choice for investors in order to bring more and better quality jobs, and to boost fair work and productivity.
Invest Glasgow and partners will also work closely with developers and investors to promote Glasgow as a city which invites only the highest standards of design quality and development which preserves and protects our built and natural heritage.
Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council and City Convener for Inclusive Economic Growth, said: “This is our new road map to ensuring we can bring even more high-quality, sustainable jobs to the city and benefit the wider economy of Glasgow. We are confident that the new strategy will help attract 15,000 new jobs by 2023, a 50% increase on the original target. In addition, updating our investment aims will help to create an environment where Fair Work principles are adopted by employers as standard. We have always said we need to create prosperity which all our citizens can share in and this is a step towards that.”
The Invest Glasgow team will help deliver the ambitious goals – raising the city’s investment and business profile; move Glasgow up existing rankings and establish a foothold in other relevant rankings and indices; and identify specific audiences, reports and markets to target in order to improve the visibility Glasgow’s business strengths and industry specialisms – of the new strategy and action plan.
Invest Glasgow will also use the www.investglasgow.com website to promote Glasgow as a Fair Work City.
Today’s approval of the new Glasgow Investment Strategy will be followed by the refresh of the Glasgow Economic Strategy, to be presented by the Leader of Glasgow City Council at the State of the City Conference on 22 November.
