Jobs are the key to a town’s regeneration

Situated on the banks of famous Scottish rivers with working populations that are heavily reliant on largescale industrial employers, Dundee and Rosyth share more in common than might be immediately apparent.

The prosperity of both depends on the whims of multinational companies.

Highly skilled staff in Fife carried out exemplary work constructing the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and are well on their way to another triumph with HMS Prince of Wales, budget worries notwithstanding.

Around 2,750 people were reportedly working on the project at its peak but employment remains uncertain once the Aircraft Carrier Alliance winds up in 2021.

What happens to the people employed in these jobs is vital to the future of the area.

One needs only look north to Dundee to see the problems that come with large-scale employers moving out.

Timex quitting in turmoil 25 years ago, and the scaling back of NCR, left a scar on the city that can still be seen in unemployment figures. For around 850 jobs at Michelin to now be earmarked for the axe as the French company looks to shut its factory undermines the feel-good factor brought by the opening of the V&A.

Whenever those in power are selling their visions for the future of towns and cities, they must remember that jobs and industry are truly what drives regeneration of place and people.