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14th May 2010 
A high-level summit aimed at boosting job prospects in Aberdeen City and Shire will be held in Aberdeen next week.
Minister for Skills and Learning Keith Brown MSP will be the keynote speaker at Employability 2010 at the Beach Ballroom next Tuesday [May 18].
Other speakers at the all-day event will include Aberdeen City Council Leader Councillor John Stewart and Aberdeenshire Council Chief Executive Colin Mackenzie, who will launch Aberdeenshire’s employability strategy.
Organised by Aberdeen City’s Aberdeen Works and by Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership, the 10am–4pm conference will feature a range of speakers in the morning and a series of afternoon workshops run by employment professionals.
Other organisations represented at the event will include JobCentre Plus, Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future [ACSEF] and employers from the Union Square retail centre, which has provided hundreds of jobs for unemployed local people.
The Union Square development has so far created 903 jobs – 414 of which have been filled by unemployed people. A further 345 jobs are in the pipeline.
The conference – funded by Aberdeen City’s Fairer Scotland Fund and Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (ACSEF) – will focus on what has been achieved to date to create employment and increase skills training in the North-east and on strategies for further activity.
Mr Brown said: “Unemployment has continued to rise in recent months, so the effects of recession are still clearly being felt across Scotland. Even though in Aberdeen City and Shire the employment rates are higher than the Scottish average, this event demonstrates that there is much more work to be done.
“Those who feel the impact of recession most are always those who experience unemployment and that impacts on families and communities. My ministerial colleagues and I are determined that we do all we can to avoid the risk that those who become unemployed, as a result of economic downturn, are left behind even as the economy strengthens.”
Councillor Stewart said: “The conference is designed to bring people together to build on what we have achieved so far in terms of training and job creation, and to work more closely together to create more employment opportunities.
“The focus is not just on people who are out of work – we are also targeting the many people who feel held back by their lack of qualifications and who are on low pay, but who want to progress through further training to secure a better job.
“Aberdeen City and Shire will be working ever more closely together to create easy-to-use services for people so that we can best link their needs with the opportunities that are available. The conference will be a major step in that process.”
Mr Mackenzie commented: “The employability conference is a great example of partnership working and the shared vision of increasing opportunities for developing skills and helping people move into employment across the North-east.
“The event will also see the launch of the Aberdeenshire Employability Strategy, created through the collaborative work of the Aberdeenshire community planning partners.
“We have a vision in Aberdeenshire where those in search of work can move from unemployment into work, training or volunteering, and this strategy outlines how we aim to achieve it.”
The cross-boundary employability services work closely with training providers, colleges, government agencies and the private sector to give people the best chance of finding work or securing a better job.
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