6 county corporation tax

[blewuporstuffed]

Is there a case for offering more bursaries or lower fees for certain courses?
Like software, ICT or engineering?

[Rois]

Is there a case for offering more bursaries or lower fees for certain courses?
Like software, ICT or engineering?

Definitely agree with that.  Also the IT companies should be trying to tie in grads with helping pay fees in return for two or three years of employment post-university.  Giving the students say £5k per year at uni and then getting them to work for a reasonable and assured salary after graduation would be a big incentive to getting grads into the right courses.   

[JohnDenver]

Is there a case for offering more bursaries or lower fees for certain courses?
Like software, ICT or engineering?

Definitely agree with that.  Also the IT companies should be trying to tie in grads with helping pay fees in return for two or three years of employment post-university.  Giving the students say £5k per year at uni and then getting them to work for a reasonable and assured salary after graduation would be a big incentive to getting grads into the right courses.

Is there anything to be said for some of the IT companies offering positions straight from school, training the staff in skills that they actually use on the job and gaining qualifications there over a certain number of years? 

[armaghniac]

The ICT "industry" does not do enough to enhance its own labour supply. It doesn't even do enough to inform people about the opportunities available, they simply fight over the graduates without doing anything to increase the number of people doing these courses. How about an industry consortium providing loans to students which are written off if the student comes to work in the industry for a period?

[blewuporstuffed]

All decent enough suggestions, but i suppose the main point is, that a cut in corporation tax in itself isnt enough.
We need to identify the type of business we want to attarct here ( and we already have a bit of a head start in the Software sector) and activly encourage or provide incentives for young people to follow that career path.

[brokencrossbar1]

Is there a case for offering more bursaries or lower fees for certain courses?
Like software, ICT or engineering?

Definitely agree with that.  Also the IT companies should be trying to tie in grads with helping pay fees in return for two or three years of employment post-university.  Giving the students say £5k per year at uni and then getting them to work for a reasonable and assured salary after graduation would be a big incentive to getting grads into the right courses.

Is there anything to be said for some of the IT companies offering positions straight from school, training the staff in skills that they actually use on the job and gaining qualifications there over a certain number of years?

They are starting to do this,  I know Allstate offer an apprenticeship type arrangement.  There are other IT companies looking at it, and I know one of the posters on the board here (albeit not as regular these days) is involved in a similar project with a large indigenous IT based organistion. 

[lynchbhoy]

Ireland pumped a fortune into it HE colleges and Universities all through the 90's and 00's. The opposite is happening in North.
I Think they don't seem to get that part.

+1

Queens would only be slightly behind Trinity in the University rankings and probably above any other Irish university. It's also part of the Russell group which makes it a top 20 post graduate university in the UK. Northern Ireland consistently has the best exam results at GCSE/A-Level in the UK, i think it's unfair to say our colleges are far behind the South.

Ah the old best GCSE and A-Levels argument trotted out.
The problem isnt the top 10%, its the rest.
Its the fact that Ireland has TCD, UCD, DIT, DCU, NUI, RCI, UL, CIT, SIT LKIT and more i've missed.
N.Ireland Has Queen's and the University of Belfast aka UU.

If N.I produces 50 computer science graduates a year, that isn't gonna make a dent in the number of IT companies looking to open here.

No Point pumping out History graduates and saying there are no jobs for them.

yep there are/were IT jobs in the north and there wasn't enough qualified people to take them.

my missus worked for a company that opened up a Belfast office.
was always trying to recruit IT staff at all levels. couldn't get them.
had to import many from EU, india etc

a lot of the investNI based start up industries were heavily heavily subsidised

a lot of the graduates will head south as the money is way better!

this corporation tax project will be interesting though!

Very true, but conversely some Multi-Nationals like the idea of the north because of the lower pay scales compared to both Dublin and the rest of the UK.

The problem being is that we're churning out teachers and Business studies graduates by the bucket load with no work for either.

I'd agree with you

Big business are looking for huge financial incentives to set up anywhere - esp in the north given it's recent history and reputation.
Pay scales def are a big factor but the severe lack of skills is the killer.

It will take the norths unis and colleges a few years to churn out ict grads - but more importantly these guys need 6-10 years exp before they would be a valuable asset in a workforce.
That's a while to wait as right now there's feck all up there!

[lynchbhoy]

Is there a case for offering more bursaries or lower fees for certain courses?
Like software, ICT or engineering?

Definitely agree with that.  Also the IT companies should be trying to tie in grads with helping pay fees in return for two or three years of employment post-university.  Giving the students say £5k per year at uni and then getting them to work for a reasonable and assured salary after graduation would be a big incentive to getting grads into the right courses.

Is there anything to be said for some of the IT companies offering positions straight from school, training the staff in skills that they actually use on the job and gaining qualifications there over a certain number of years?

They are starting to do this,  I know Allstate offer an apprenticeship type arrangement.  There are other IT companies looking at it, and I know one of the posters on the board here (albeit not as regular these days) is involved in a similar project with a large indigenous IT based organistion.

If it's the same company I'm thinking of - they got unreal investment from all over the shop to set up in the first place!!

[Stall the Bailer]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

[Maguire01]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

[blewuporstuffed]

That may be true ( and indeed further afeild) but that highlights another point, that most of the job promotion is in belfast rather than regiona areas or places like Derry, so people have no choice but to commute to belfast (or move there) for work.

[johnneycool]

That may be true ( and indeed further afeild) but that highlights another point, that most of the job promotion is in belfast rather than regiona areas or places like Derry, so people have no choice but to commute to belfast (or move there) for work.

Correct.

Hence the need to upgrade the roads and junctions into Belfast.

Decentralise it a lot more and there is less strain on the infrastructure in Belfast.

[Maguire01]

That may be true ( and indeed further afeild) but that highlights another point, that most of the job promotion is in belfast rather than regiona areas or places like Derry, so people have no choice but to commute to belfast (or move there) for work.

Is it not the same the world over?

[blewuporstuffed]

That may be true ( and indeed further afeild) but that highlights another point, that most of the job promotion is in belfast rather than regiona areas or places like Derry, so people have no choice but to commute to belfast (or move there) for work.

Is it not the same the world over?

It is, but god forbid we should try and do something better!

[Stall the Bailer]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

The  same way as people from Omagh, Letterkenny, Limavady, Inishowen etc travel into Derry for work. Your bit in bold is not relevant.