IN MY VIEW : Martina Anderson MLA - Getting down to business to ensure a better future for the north west

The huge programme of work that flowed from this campaign led to significant Executive support for the 2013 City of Culture year, major funding for enhanced road and rail connectivity between the north west and Dublin/Belfast and a renewed focus on the need for university expansion in Derry.

The recent announcement from the Executive that it will match fund the Inclusive Growth Plan is another huge boost with much of the Future Fund monies committed by the Executive focused on increasing skills levels as well as the expansion of the Magee campus.

Building on this progress, a key focus for myself and Sinn Fein locally is to ensure that well paid jobs and enhanced business start up opportunities are provided so that our upskilled citizens are able to avail of their new qualifications by staying and working in Derry.

That is why myself and party colleagues have been engaging with InvestNI and Derry Strabane District Council in recent weeks to ensure that dedicated policies are developed to achieve both these goals.

Our talks with InvestNI have focused heavily on the need for more well paid Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) jobs to be attracted to the city in sectors such as software design, cyber security and financial services.

We already have hundreds of graduates from the city and district who are qualified in these areas but who currently travel to Belfast due to the lack of positions available here in the city. This is why I have asked InvestNI to develop a dedicated strategy to promote Derry globally to these types of employers.

I have also pledged to do all in my power to ensure that the new Grade A office accommodation at Ebrington is fast tracked to reassure international investors that we have the right infrastructure in place to allow them to invest. I will also be engaging with the owners of existing Grade A office accommodation in the city to ensure that their facilities are properly promoted by InvestNI to potential investors. This means more visits being arranged to Derry and maximum collaboration between InvestNI and council to ensure all expressions of interest are fully exploited.

Whilst well paid FDI jobs are vital in providing bulk employment, we also need to build on the city’s reputation as a hotbed for local SMEs (small and medium enterprises). These small companies, often employing just a handful of people, are the lifeblood of our economy. They pay their taxes locally and in many cases have grown into large companies providing employment to local graduates.

At present these SMEs are anchored in sites such as the North West Science Park at Fort George and the Creative Hub Buildings at Ebrington. Both buildings are almost at full capacity so we clearly need to provide more infrastructure to allow continued growth for the sector. This is why I and my party colleague Karen Mullan will be engaging with the Dept for Communities and The Executive Office to identify opportunities for the NW Science Park to be expanded and for additional facilities to be developed at Ebrington. I will also work with InvestNI and council to ensure that attractive start up packages are provided to encourage new SMEs to set up in both locations.

Many of our existing SMEs were set up by local people who were not educated to university level but who had the grit and creativity to turn their ideas into a business. This is why I also want InvestNI and council to explore how small business hubs could also be established in working class and rural communities to attract local people who do not want to study to degree level but who equally want to develop their own businesses in their own communities. These same hubs could also be the locations for the delivery of new training opportunities provided by the City Deal Future Funding.

Of course, Derry is also the centre of the wider north west region and in order to fully reach our potential Invest NI need to work closely with IDA Ireland to build on the existing cooperation between Derry City and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council, as well as enhanced collaboration on economic development between the Executive and the Dublin government.

None of these initiatives will work unless there is a seamless, collaborative approach from both InvestNI, our local council and all of the political parties in the city. We also need to see the Executive, and in particular the Dept of the Economy support the development of dedicated policies to address economic inequalities in the north west which is a key theme of the New Decade, New Deal document.

We all now have to make good on its promises and I personally pledge to do all in my power to make that happen.