Kilmarnock chosen for local economy pilot by Barclays

Updated

Kilmarnock has been chosen by Barclays as the first Scottish town in its local economy pilot.

The bank will launch its new economic growth initiative in the Ayrshire town, joining forces with local leaders through a study over a three-year period.

It aims to identify how to boost the local economy and help business growth in the area.

The pilot in Scotland follows the first study of its kind by Barclays in Bury, Greater Manchester.

As part of the project, all secondary schools in Kilmarnock will have access to the bank’s LifeSkills programme to help people prepare for the world of work.

Barclays CEO Jes Staley will launch the programme at a LifeSkills session in a local school on Tuesday.

Jes Staley
Jes Staley

He said: “If we want businesses and our economy to grow, and our young people to succeed, then we need to ensure investment in opportunities takes place not just in big cities, but also in communities like Kilmarnock, so that they can become the engine rooms of job creation and growth.

“As we double our Scottish workforce to 5,000 people, including through our major new campus in Glasgow, we want to ensure that there are employment opportunities for people from wider areas to benefit.

“And we know that helping to boost people’s employment skills often gives them that first chance to build a brighter career.

“That is why we’ve chosen Kilmarnock as our new location for our Thriving Local Economies programme that will see Barclays employees working with and learning from local schools and colleges, businesses and entrepreneurs, and help both young people and adults into employment.

“We want our work in Kilmarnock to discover the best ways to boost growth locally, and for wider communities too.”

Barclays plans to work with two further pilot areas in the programme: a rural community, and a coastal town.

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