Metro bid could spark jobs boost

THOUSANDS of jobs could be created under plans to make homes in Glasgow more energy efficient and in the bid to launch a Clyde Metro. The Clyde Metro public transport investment could support the employment of 250,000 people in a year but many of the jobs, including manufacturing, are unlikely to be in Glasgow.

A housing retrofit scheme, which would see residents’ homes fitted out to become greener and use less energy has the potential to create 12,000 to 20,000 jobs for each year it runs.

But again some of the roles may also be outside the Glasgow region. The retrofit of council properties could lead to additional jobs as well.

The potential job projections have been published in a report by consultants titled the economic analysis of Glasgow’s Green Deal.

The paper said: “Investment in Clyde Metro could support around 250,000 gross job years, although this includes all activities involved in the metro including upstream manufacturing, much of which is unlikely to take place in the Glasgow City region.”

Other green industry estimated to generate work includes the installation of renewable energy measures such as solar panels on council property, which could support up to 400 jobs over the investment lifetime.

The construction of a new material recycling facility could lead to 340 jobs in a year but the move may also see some roles outside the region.

The employment opportunities have been examined as part of a look at benefits and costs associated with Glasgow’s Green Deal mission, which aims to “reshape the city’s economy” by 2030 in line with net zero carbon targets.

The paper from Pengwern Associates pointed out “that many interventions associated with Green Deal are labour intensive and hence provide the opportunity to help reduce regional unemployment.”

But the number of Glasgow- located jobs generated depends on a number of factors including “the extent to which the supply chains associated with these focus areas are localised.”

Other issues include the “functioning of the local labour market; and the extent to which there is a skills match between the jobs associated with the Green Deal and the skills of those in the local labour force.”

The report added: “The interplay of these factors may mean that in developing individual business cases, analysis may yield lower jobs estimates than presented here.”