Holyrood View - Building on our county’s strengths
Spend a summer travelling across Angus and one thing becomes impossible to miss: our communities are full of ambitious, hardworking people, writes Lloyd Melville MSP.
Young folk are learning the skills our future economy will need. Businesses are investing, farmers are adapting and volunteers are stepping forward to support their neighbours.
There is energy and confidence in every part of our county.
That has been the clearest lesson from my visits throughout Angus this summer.
At Angus Training Group, I met apprentices preparing for careers in engineering and manufacturing.
At Greenlaw Park in Carnoustie, young people were gaining practical experience while helping to build much-needed new homes.
Their enthusiasm was encouraging and demonstrated the value of employers, colleges and government working together to create clear routes into skilled and secure employment.
Giving young people the chance to build rewarding careers close to home will be vital to the future strength of our local economy.
The scale of that opportunity was also clear at Montrose Port. Angus has skilled workers, strong businesses, valuable infrastructure and an important role to play in Scotland’s changing energy economy.
The task now is to build on those strengths: supporting investment, improving connections and ensuring that businesses can access the people and skills they need to grow.
These issues can sound technical when discussed in Parliament, but on the ground they are about whether a company can recruit another apprentice, expand its operations or bring new work to Angus.
Our rural economy tells an equally positive story. At Balhungie Berry Farm, I saw how local producers are combining generations of experience with new ideas.
Angus food and farming businesses sustain jobs, attract visitors and strengthen our reputation far beyond the county.
Government has an important role in supporting that innovation, understanding the particular needs of rural communities and working with the sector as it responds to new opportunities and changing demands.
The same energy is visible in our communities. Organisations such as Reach Across and Monifieth Community Fridge bring people together, offer practical support and improve lives every day.
The value of being out and about is that these conversations help connect our debates in Parliament with the realities facing local people.
Every issue raised, question asked and visit made helps me represent Angus more effectively at Holyrood.
My job is to understand what local people and businesses need, speak up for those priorities and work constructively to secure the investment and opportunities that will help Angus prosper.
*Lloyd Melville is the MSP for Angus South, voted into the constituency in May’s Scottish Parliament elections. Holding the seat for the SNP with a majority of 6,608, Mr Melville replaced outgoing MSP Graeme Dey.