BBC 3 shooting program on youth employment in Christchurch

I was with the Mayor yesterday afternoon at the Kings together with a group of small business owners and a hundred young hopefuls from all over the country,all of which had got through a tortuous process to get acceptance to the last stage of a selection procedure which will result in twenty being placed in Christchurch business and their story filmed for a program to go out on BBC 3 in January next year. Why Christchurch? Well,we were selected from many towns across the country because our businesses and the Council were found to be open and welcoming! Not my words, the words of the BBC director! I have to say my opinion is that it has to do with my reaction to the dreadful Jeremy Clarkson piece some six months ago butI suppose that sounds a bit sour grape-ish. However the outcome is not in dispute and the Beeb will be filming in Christchurch on and off until November this year. Following on from the FT story last week this has put our town in good light and has high relevance to our offer to tourists and highlights what a good place Christchurch is not just to visit but also to do business. And this is important for our future depends on keeping our young people with skills in our Borough,training them to a higher skills target determined by our businesses and making sure we can house them in affordable accommodation. Our local economy although currently buoyant throws up some interesting challenges, not the least of which is the relationship of house prices and wages which is clearly out of kilter and also the point made by our larger industries that they struggle to find young potential employees with the right skill sets and qualifications for their vacancies. The CBC growth agenda,I have previously blogged about has these issues very much in mind but on a long term strategy. Therefore linking our growth agenda with our local plan which is currently being examined by an independent inspector in public, is essential.