Better jobs with better wages...Minister’s bold and ambitious vision for the NI economy

The Economy Minister has launched her ambitious economic vision which will lead to better jobs with better wages and an improvement in people’s quality of life.

In ‘10X Economy: An Economic Vision for a decade of innovation’ Minister Diane Dodds outlines the steps her Department will take to ensure Northern Ireland is positioned amongst the elite small open economies in the world.

The new vision for the economy has been endorsed by a wide range of business leaders from industry, the hospitality sector, digital, manufacturing and engineering.

Minister Dodds described her vision as ‘purposefully bold and ambitious’: “One hundred years ago, Northern Ireland was internationally renowned for its shipbuilding, rope works and linen factories. Today we are global leaders in cyber security, fintech and advanced manufacturing. We must be ready to embrace future economic trends and job opportunities for our people.

“Our economy has already been dramatically reshaped by the Covid-19 pandemic and the past year has highlighted the resilience and creativity of the business community. This new vision is centred on making Northern Ireland the most exciting place to do business and to do that I plan to focus on our strengths.

“A 10X ambition is about creating a step change in how we think about our economy. It is not a literalist term about increasing a single metric by a factor of ten; instead we are setting an ambitious pathway for fundamental change to our economy and committing to everyone feeling they are part of this transformation.”

The ‘10X Economy’ identifies 10 guiding principles which underpin the vision. They include supporting a greener economy, inspiring the future generation to thrive, delivering improved outcomes for all and increasing innovation. There will be a focus on priority clusters where NI can be a global leader and a future generation of workers will be inspired and prepared to respond flexibly to future skills requirements.

Minister Dodds added: “When our economy is thriving, Northern Ireland thrives. I have no doubt that Northern Ireland’s businesses are on the right path to recover, rebuild and rebound back stronger than ever.”

Delighted to see that the role of digital innovation, Dr Jayne Brady MBE, Belfast Digital Innovation Commissioner continued: “We already have an extremely talented digital innovation sector and, with the right support and encouragement, it has the potential to transform our economy.”

Kirsty McManus, Director of the Institute of Directors (IOD) in Northern Ireland explained “The IoD welcomes the publication which recognises the need to ensure Northern Ireland becomes a more enterprising region that supports new business development in any and all parts of the country. It also acknowledges the role that skills development will place in attracting businesses to invest and to take advantage of the exciting and emerging opportunities of the next decade.”

Steve Orr, CEO Catalyst highlighted that the scheme was ‘ambitious – but achievable’: “Focussing on sectoral clusters, such as digital tech, fintech and green tech, and funding innovation in the right way, means that Northern Ireland will be placed to compete on a global scale like never before.”

Dr Joanne Stuart OBE, CEO of Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance stated: “The NI Tourism Alliance, with members spanning all sectors of the tourism economy, is pleased to offer our support to the Department’s Economic Vision. We look forward to building on our successes in attracting visitors to our world class attractions, experiences and events, and collaborating with the Department to ensure tourism plays an important role in the wider transformation agenda.”

Welcoming the Department’s Economic Vision, Michael Ryan, vice president and general manager of Spirit AeroSystems Belfast concluded: “It builds upon Northern Ireland’s existing strengths and rightly focuses on the core sectors and advanced technologies where Northern Ireland can excel as a global leader in the next decade and beyond. As a company renowned for innovation, we know that it is a catalyst for economic growth and prosperity and can help deliver a more sustainable future for all.”

The ‘10X Economy’ is available on the DfE website at https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/publications/10x-economy-economic-vision-decade-innovation

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you