Bill Kidd MSP
‘FAIR PLAY TO BAE SYSTEMS FOR OPENING NEW FACILITY IN SCOTSTOUN’
ALTHOUGH the clocks have changed and we have welcomed the lighter nights, someone forgot to send a memo to the weather.
It has been dreich, with the odd gale thrown in. I hope you are getting on with it and am reminded of the old Billy Connelly saying that “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes”.
I had the enormous pleasure of visiting the BAE Systems yard in Scotstoun to mark Scottish Apprenticeship Week on March 4 and was impressed by the firm’s commitment to regenerating its workforce and trying to address the gender imbalance previously associated with working in this industry.
I spoke to three young ladies on a work experience week, as well as a few apprentices in the pipe shop.
The company has taken on 200 apprentices this year and intends to do the same over the next few years to replace the people of my age (okay, slightly younger) who are now approaching retirement. It is looking at various initiatives to find young recruits and open the workforce up to people who are slightly older and want to retrain or have other family commitments and cannot work 35 hours. These are well-paid local jobs, so fair play to BAE Systems for opening their Shipbuilding College right here in Scotstoun.
I also visited St Paul’s Primary for the school’s 50th anniversary Mass and celebration and I salute the pupils, parents, and staff for all the work that went into marking this event.
Like lots of us, I am bemused at the Labour Party’s insistence here in Scotland on “staying out of Europe” when a clear majority of us Scots want to get back inside as soon as possible, as the damage to our economy and the cost to us as individuals, both for our gas and electricity plus our shopping, is rising and staying high far quicker and longer than within the EU.
I look forward to my colleague
SNP MP Carol Monaghan taking on Labour’s local candidate on this subject, as well as benefit caps, prescription fees (it is now £9.90 for a prescription in England and Wales) and their simply barmy proposals to further privatise the NHS as soon as the current Tory leader gets a backbone and gives the country the date of the next UK election. Decisions about Scotland are always better made by those of us living here.
I was impressed by the firm’s commitment to regenerating its workforce and trying to address the gender imbalance previously associated with working in this industry