Graham huband busIness edItor

The Dundee of today is a very different beast to the city I knew as I grew up.

I am of the doldrums generation, born in the late ’70s and brought up in the 1980s when the city was neither one thing nor the other.

Bar a few notable exceptions, such as tyre maker Michelin, the jute and textiles-led manufacturing revolution that brought the city to international attention had all but died away.

Like all things at a tender age, my memories were shaped by those around me and the first real economic blow I remember was the closure of Kestrel Marine at Dundee docks in 1986.

A family member was impacted and I clearly remember the anxiety the situation caused. Where would the next pay packet come from? Who would put food on the table?

Fast forward seven years and the now infamous Timex dispute exploded.

The watch manufacturer – which arrived in Dundee post-war and employed more than 7,000 people, mostly women, at its height – was shaping to leave.

The months-long strike that followed mass sackings at the plant are indelibly etched on the city’s consciousness to this day.

But, ultimately, Timex disappeared and a huge hole was left behind, with workers finding few outlets for their particular skill sets.

While Timex may be the highest profile jobs shock that Dundee has suffered, it is far from being the only one.

Names such as Valentine’s, Levis, Caledon, Keiller’s, Torith, ABB Nitran, Muirfield and William Low have all come and gone, while major employers such as NCR – the group that put new wind in Dundee’s manufacturing sails in the 1960s with the advent of the hole-in-the-wall cash machine – have radically restructured their operations.

By the early noughties, Dundee’s economy had spun through 180 degrees.

Dirty fingernails had made way for manicured perfection and shirts and ties outnumbered overalls and high-vis vests as the services industry – which covers everything from contact centres to retail, hospitality, childcare, legal work, the creative sector, financial services and much more besides – took centre stage.

The more broad-based economy it brought is a good thing.

But with tens of thousands still unemployed and many of those in-work still struggling to make ends meet as a result of low pay and zerohours contracts, Dundee remains a long-way from the finished article.