Low literacy and IT skills could be preventing tens of thousands of Dundee people from finding work but the city council has admitted it does not have the resources to tackle the issue properly.
It is anticipated that the city will attract an influx of new offshore renewables, manufacturing and service jobs asa result of the £1 billion Waterfront development and V&A Dundee.
There are serious concerns, however, that many young people and adults lack the skills needed to secure those 21st Century jobs.
Large numbers of people areincapable of holding down a job after they leave education in Dundee as they lack the most basic requirements such as reading and writing, and in a new three-year-strategy aimed at shaping adult learning in the city, council chiefs signal their intention to remedy such deficiencies but admit the necessary training will be impossible to deliver universally.
Council leaders instead hope to target those most in need with their “diminishing resources”, relying upon the voluntary sector as budget cuts bite.
Services, charities and educational groups including the city’s universities and college will be asked to bearthe brunt of revolutionising the employability of Dundonians.
The council has said it will carry out studies of deprived areas within the city, identifying those in need of help and directing them towards classes, training and employment opportunities.
The trade-off may be fewer resources for those in more affluent areas seeking training and education.
SNP Councillor Jimmy Black toldThe Courier he believes the issueof job skills and basic education must be remedied as a matter of urgency.
“Unless we are successful in getting people up to speed with literacy and IT knowledge and equip them with the right skills then there will be a large number of people excluded from the opportunities this city is providing,” he said.
“There are a substantial number of people who still come out of school and cannot cope with anything but the most basic written information.
“There are also a lot of people who have worked all their lives and never used a computer who have now found themselves unemployed and entering a new world that they are not familiar with.”
Labour’s education spokesman Laurie Bidwell said the issue was extremely important and hoped the council would continue to invest in existing schemes.
He also praised the council and education department for their efforts and praised the strategy as “a comprehensive and aspirational document”.