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Employers in many rural areas are facing the problem of a declining workforce due to demographic changes in the population. These demographic changes are a result of a combination of population ageing, the in-migration of mainly retired people, out-migration and low fertility rates. This paper examines how employers are adjusting to demographic changes in Dumfries and Galloway, a rural local authority in south west Scotland. The area has one of the highest proportions of older people in the UK, and as such provides a useful insight into employers' responses to population ageing. Fifty locally based employers were questioned concerning the labour market impact of population ageing and their responses to this situation. The paper argues that in order to ensure the medium-term economic viability of the local economy, employers will need a set of strategies both to attract workers to the area and to increase the participation and retention of older workers resident in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the potential value of local, partnership-based employability training and job guarantee programmes, focusing on one example--the 'Alloa Initiative'. The Initiative involved an employability training and job guarantee scheme developed in partnership with Tesco, a major retailer, in preparation for the opening of one of the company's new stores. This paper reports on the outputs from this project, which placed 109 disadvantaged job seekers into positions at the store, and proved particularly effective at targeting the long-term unemployed and those with limited experience of the retail sector. The analysis is based on the findings of survey research undertaken with 86 of the 109 training course completers (a 79 per cent response rate) and all the main partners involved in the Initiative. Innovative elements of the training programme that contributed to its positive outcomes are discussed, and a model for 'managing successful partnerships' is applied, in order to identify critical factors explaining the apparent success of the Initiative. In particular, the importance of employers providing job guarantees is noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic development activities of local authorities have expanded considerably over the last decade. This paper considers the range of such activities and presents an overview of the results of a survey of local authorities, taking Scotland as a case study. It discusses the differences between the institutional environment for supporting economic development, contrasting it with the rest of the UK. It then considers the reasons for involvement by the local authorities in economic development and their priorities. The results of the survey, with over 90 per cent of local authorities responding, show the range and level of economic development activities directly carried out by them to be considerable. Generally, the role of partnership with other public, private and third‐sector bodies in the development and implementation of policies and initiatives was found to be significant. Finally, the level of resources devoted to economic development was substantial with expenditure of over £90 million per year. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]