Investment in skills critical to closing productivity gap, claims Derry MLA

SDLP Foyle MLA Sinéad McLaughlin has said that investment in skills is critical to closing the productivity gap, following researchers from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) telling an Oireachtas committee that the productivity gap between the North and South of the island is now 40%.

Ms. McLaughlin said: “The productivity gap may sound like economic jargon to many people, but it is a critical measure of how well our economy is performing and whether we are investing in skills as well as research and development to allow our businesses to compete.

Productivity gap between Northern Ireland and Republic widening, committee told

“The research from ESRI showing that this gap has become even wider is cause for real concern.

"Not only is the whole of the North falling behind when it comes to this crucial economic metric, but we know that Derry will have fallen even further behind, given we have the lowest levels of productivity anywhere across this region.

“The good news is that low productivity is not inevitable or inescapable for our city.

"The policy levers to address this critical issue are within our grasp, through proper investment in skills, expanding university provision as well as increased funding for further education courses. Most importantly, we need to start directing interventions to the Council areas that are performing worst in this area.

“As Invest NI considers its future after the recent review, I believe that a critical step to rebuild the organisation and the confidence of the people of our city in it, is for our economic development agency to adopt sub-regional targets, including on productivity.

"Low productivity should act as a trigger for government investment in skills and education if we are going to address regional imbalance and the economic inequality that we still suffer as a city.”