Significant investment in bid to boost jobs

ALMOST £6million is to be invested into the Highlands and islands to get people back to work.

Highland council has received £5,170,000 as part of the European Social Fund and another £770,000 has been given to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar to promote sustainable employment and increase opportunities to gain new skills.

Highland council leader, Margaret Davidson, said the money will be mainly spent on young people and those who have been unemployed for a long time. She also confirmed the contribution will be matched ‘pound for pound’ by the local authority.

She said: ‘ This is an important milestone towards providing a series of interventions that are aimed at tackling poverty in Highland, by enabling people to enter employment. Highland has a growing economy and it is important we work together to ensure as many people as possible are able to take up available opportunities.

‘The £ 5,170,000 of European Social Fund will be matched pound for pound by the Highland council as lead partner for this intervention, along with contributions by some of our partners. Together, we are making a very significant upfront investment, in helping people into work and stimulating growth of our economy in the Highlands.’

Roseanna Cunningham, fair work secretary for the Scottish government, welcomed the £43 million Scotland-wide fund: ‘While the overall economic picture for Scotland remains positive, particularly when compared to where we were at the peak of the recession, there remains work to be done. We must maintain momentum and ensure every power at our disposal is used to grow the economy, increase employment, lower unemployment and remove barriers to the jobs market.’