The pandemic has impacted us all in so many ways. As the vaccination programme rolls out, we can start to see a return to a more ‘normal’ way of life. But we can’t just build back to where we were (writes Cllr. KATE CAMPBELL).
This crisis has brought into sharp focus the structural inequalities that are woven through our society. We need to build an economy that offers more stability and, crucially, more equality for everyone.
Sadly, many firms are saying they’ll have no option but to make redundancies once furlough ends. The full impact on employment is still to be fully realised. This is alongside the economic uncertainty caused by Brexit, still largely masked by the pandemic.
So there is much to do.
Supporting business and retaining jobs must be the priority, alongside building an economy with fair work, sustainability and wellbeing at its heart. As your council we feel that we’ve an important role to play.
Together, with partners, we’re working hard to support businesses to get back up and running. So far, we’ve administered over £181.4m in grants to more than 19,000 businesses.
And we’ve been working on plans to bring back the Edinburgh Guarantee – first launched after the last recession, offering training or employment to all young people.
We’ll be relaunching as the Edinburgh Guarantee for All, expanded to support residents of all ages.
We know that people who already faced disadvantage have been more likely to be adversely affected – people on low incomes, in insecure work, women, disabled people, and people from a BAME background. So support will be focussed on those who need it the most.
We’ve been speaking to businesses, colleges, universities, voluntary sector and national organisations. We’ve met with employers from all sectors, gaining valuable insights into how the pandemic has affected different industries.
We’ve been struck by how much our business community wants to work together to rebuild our economy, creating good quality jobs and opportunities for fair work. And we’re looking for more employers to join us.
There are many benefits to being part of the Edinburgh Guarantee. We’ll help employers connect with a diverse and talented pool of potential employees.
With a track record of delivering employment support we can help businesses who want to promote inclusion and diversity in their workforce, with all the benefits this brings.
The Edinburgh Guarantee team will be on hand to help with recruitment processes. And we’ve been pulling together key resources, for example, access to funding to support recruitment. Getting involved will help employers to raise the profile of their business and connect with other organisations across their sector.
All this information will be available on our new website, launching soon.
But most importantly it’s an opportunity for our business community to get involved, actively, in rebuilding our economy.
So please get in touch with us today via edinburghguarantee@edinburgh.gov.uk – be part of the recovery of our city, and give someone that chance to move into fair work or gain the education and training that they deserve.
Cllr Kate Campbell is Edinburgh’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener.
This article first appeared in the Edinburgh News
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