The £34m European cash injection into Scotland’s economy should be used to address an impending skills shortage in engineering, technology, oil and gas and construction, says Darren Montagu, managing director at Hays in Scotland.

This week, first minister Alex Salmond announced the funding from the European Social Fund (ESF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which aims to help 28,000 people to gain or sustain employment opportunities through training and support the creation of 193 jobs.

Montagu says: “Skill shortages, which are still apparent despite the recession, impact on both the public and private sector and this should lessen with the investment. For example, there is a clear need to support industry apprenticeships in engineering, technology, oil and gas and construction in order to counter an ageing workforce. It can also be difficult to source professionals north of Inverness with the right skill sets, such as quantity surveyors and engineers, due to the remoteness; not only should the funding and promise of jobs create more opportunities locally but it should also help to attract talent to the area. In the west of Scotland, unemployment is still higher than the UK average so there remains a massive challenge to further reduce unemployment and secure jobs for people. We hope that there will be further investment in job creation to secure Scotland’s stability, and hopefully growth, over the coming year.”