BLOG: Tony Wilson on Merseyside's economic outlook

By Ben Schofield on Oct 13, 09 11:31 AM

Tony Wilson.jpg

I was encouraged to read in The Mersey Partnership's latest economic review that Liverpool's student population continues to grow (for a news story, click here).

As a top ten employer in the city, and the only national and international law firm with Liverpool headquarters, Hill Dickinson recognises the importance of attracting more young people to the region to ensure economic and social sustainability.

A burgeoning student population benefits the city in terms of contributing to economic growth and global connectivity.

The fundamental challenge is making Liverpool an attractive place for students to remain once they've graduated.

It is vital, especially in these times of unprecedented global, technological and environmental change, that we support talent and invest in the future.

The students of today are the business leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Liverpool needs them to stimulate the economy and businesses benefit from having inspired employees to help their companies prepare for the upturn.

As Hill Dickinson approaches its 200th anniversary in 2010, investing in the future has never been so important.

We have adopted an integrated, dedicated approach to attracting, retaining and investing in the best young talent with such initiatives as the Hill Dickinson Business School and developing our graduate recruitment programme. And other Liverpool businesses are also recognising the need to increase their collaborations with universities and work as one in an effort to bolster opportunities in a tough job market.

It was therefore reassuring to recently hear the Government has joined forces with the Federation of Small Businesses to offer up to 10,000 graduate internships across the UK.

While Gordon Brown is anticipating "a whole new generation of young Britons to embrace ambition and enterprise", I'm hoping this scheme will further attract more young people to Liverpool so we can build upon our decade of growth and rise in employment.

Young people will also be attracted to a city which not only invests in them, their training and development, but which also invests heavily in key transformational sectors such as culture, media and in knowledge and low carbon economies.

In today's highly competitive global economy, the innovative use of strong and dynamic knowledge bases will ensure Liverpool is a top performer.

*Tony Wilson is senior partner at Hill Dickinson