Manufacturing

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 11:20 am on 9 March 2000.

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Photo of Elaine Thomson Elaine Thomson Labour 11:20, 9 March 2000

If Richard Lochhead does not mind, I would like to continue my speech.

There is as much oil and gas still to be extracted from the North sea as has already been extracted over the past 25 years. However, that depends on an efficient, modern engineering and manufacturing industry. That industry must deliver innovative products, allowing production costs to be continually driven down so that that UK continental shelf remains globally competitive.

I welcome "Created in Scotland" and the issues that are discussed in it. It correctly identifies the need for manufacturing companies to continue to invest and modernise, and to make maximum use of the new technologies. We must ensure that companies' product ranges are available on the web and that availability checks and ordering can be carried out using e-commerce.

As has already been said, proportionally, Scotland exports and manufactures more than the rest of the UK. We need to take advantage of every opportunity to ensure that Scottish manufacturing succeeds globally. There is no doubt that we can find an extra competitive edge through the effective use of e-commerce. We have a narrow window of opportunity to rid ourselves of some of the disadvantages that arise from being situated on the western periphery of Europe.

"Created in Scotland" also discusses issues relating to skills. The current initiatives on lifelong learning, from the national grid for learning to the Scottish university for industry, are vital. Last week, I visited an engineering company in Aberdeen that is participating in one of the pilots for the Scottish university for industry, delivering high-quality training to employees at work via the web. Trainees will be allowed to train at their own pace and in their own time, to suit them and their company. Training is an area in which we in Scotland score badly. If employers are asked—especially small and medium employers—why they do not invest in training, many talk about the cost of doing so and about the time employees would be away from work. Much of the training that will be delivered by SUFI will address those concerns.

The Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation, which is the leading national training organisation for the oil and gas industries—there are several others—has produced a document on the skills required in the oil and gas industry. It has a clear agenda to do with women and gender. On average, 45 per cent of employees of most companies are women. In engineering, that figure is 20 per cent. In oil and gas companies with more than 250 employees, the figure is 10 per cent. I would describe that as miserable. A lot of opportunity is being lost. I ask the minister to address this problem to ensure that we use the skills and abilities of everybody in the economy.