A ground-breaking initiative to boost employment and growth in of one of Scotland's poorest areas will be launched tomorrow by council officials and business people in North Ayrshire.
The new scheme, built on the area's 10-year economic development and regeneration strategy, will formalise a "team North Ayrshire" support system for a middle-tier of 150 growing companies in the area.
It includes Irvine, Saltcoats, Ardrossan, Beith, West Kilbride and the Isle of Arran.
Proclaiming itself more pro-active, "joined-up" and private-sector influenced than any of the numerous economic interventions of past decades, it is hoped it will succeed where backers admit previous initiatives have largely failed to reverse the area's intractable post-industrial decline.
North Ayrshire features "at the wrong end" of many regional statistical breakdowns of economic indicators, with 22,000 more jobs needed to achieve Scotland's national average in employment.
However, local economic planners can point to a series of under-appreciated strengths and achievements as the springboard of the new growth drive. As well as some of Scotland's most attractive and accessible coastal scenery and a strong food and drink heritage, the area is already host to some major manufacturers. They include: Ardagh Glass, which makes 310 million bottles a year; DSM, "the only producer of vitamin C in the Western world"; Finnish-owned papermaker UPM; and the pharma giant GSK.
In the new scheme, business managers will be approaching firms directly, offering them bespoke services, guidance through Scotland's sometimes bewildering "white noise" of overlapping support bodies to improve their product development, access to markets, social media, financial planning, workforce development and training.
Glasgow University development economist Professor Alan McGregor, who chairs North Ayrshire economic and regeneration board, said: "Our new approach is in response to requests from local business for greater collaboration, a single point of contact, more flexible support programmes and a focus on those companies which are best placed for growth."
Malcolm Simpson, of growing local hotel and restaurant group SimpsInns, is one of the initiative's board members. He said "I was a bit wary that this would be a public-sectory, tick-boxy type of thing but the approach has been pretty damned refreshing. We are getting real actions and things are changing. We're seeing a more targeted approach to the businesses in the no-man's land between Scottish Enterprise support and Business Gateway support.
"If we can get businesses to grow their workforce between 10-20% we will see a real difference in turning this around. We can't be part of the same shoal of fishes swimming upstream."
A spokeswoman for the council said: "Everything we are doing is in response to what businesses themselves have told us."
Tomorrow's launch will feature BBC Breakfast business presenter Steph McGovern.
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