Meeting of the Parliament 27 April 2023
Like many others we have heard from today, I am very enthusiastic about the possibilities that will become available to us with increased investment in the space industry. I join colleagues in encouraging even further investment across Scotland to push our economy forward and bring much-needed jobs to our country. They would be the kind of technical, varied, skilled and well-paid jobs that we need to see more of. It is heartening to come here to discuss job creation instead of yet more people suffering the threat of job loss or precarious and unreliable work.
To be ready for this growing industry, however, we have to increase the number of young people studying STEM subjects, as Audrey Nicoll said in the previous speech. Having STEM subjects at school is really important, as is the ability to carry them forward all the way to relevant degrees and qualifications. That is about how we structure education and the link to understanding all the learning styles and learning options that are, or should be, available to young people and other people throughout their lives.
I have met fantastic apprentices at flourishing businesses such as Spirit AeroSystems in Prestwick, which is training young people in intricate and technical jobs that can sustain them for life. It is an example of supported learning taking place in a work environment, and it came across as an excellent way for the apprentices to learn.
There has to be co-operation among schools, universities, businesses and Government, as we have heard, to achieve this over the long term, for generations to come. I am glad that the minister seems to have the mindset to ensure that that is what we will seek to happen.
I would like to see a much higher proportion of young women studying STEM subjects, which we know continue to be dominated by men. When I spoke to the young apprentices, they spoke about how hard it was to make the decision to go into this field. The issue is not just how to develop relevant skills among young women but how to retain women in these professions as they advance through their careers. We definitely need to work on that. Too many young women do not see engineering and this kind of development work as an environment that they can continue in throughout their lives. It feels a bit closed to them, and that definitely needs to change.
The proposed Mangata Networks development will be of great benefit for Prestwick and the surrounding area in my region of South Scotland, as other members have spoken about. Fears about the long-term sustainability of Prestwick airport have been growing for some time, and the proposed development provides great news for an area with a long and proud history in the aviation and aeronautics industry. It is a wonderful development for the community as a whole, which is full of people who have worked in this kind of industry. I am sure that the spaceport and the industries that pop up around it will be firmly welcomed by everybody in South Scotland.
Increased investment like that will also be a fantastic benefit to our world-leading university sector, which is training the scientists, data analysts and engineers of the future right on the doorstep of the proposed plans for the space industry and at pioneering institutions across Scotland, as we have heard from other members about their regions. This is an opportunity for us to be on the cutting edge and it is very exciting.
Foremost, however, I see this as a brilliant opportunity to bring well-paid, highly skilled jobs with proper trade union representation to the area, and a wonderful chance for future generations to get in on the ground floor in the exciting development of the spaceport and all its surrounding industries. I must stress the importance of those being good trade union jobs—that is so important.
Union representation leads to the long-term sustainability of industry across Scotland; it does not detract from it. Workers who feel represented stay in their jobs and drive innovation. Workers who feel short changed and undervalued go elsewhere, so it is important that we make sure that these jobs come from an industry that welcomes that role of the trade union movement. I will be making that point very clearly to the businesses and investors in the space industry in my region and ensuring that the Government sticks to its promises in that regard—about work and the importance of representation.
I join with my Scottish Labour colleagues and all members across the chamber in celebrating the investment opportunities in the space sector and encouraging others to look at Scotland and, in particular, my region of South Scotland. It is a place where the space sector can make advancements, flourish and be an excellent place for people to work and for communities to be involved in the process.
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