You will hear five different people talking about a Development Corporation which was set up by the government to encourage the

Man: Well, I started working in the shipyard when i left school, but I lost my job when they were closed down ten years ago. And I haven’t had any work since then. Anyway, I’m too old to work now. As far as I’m concerned, the Development Cooperation has done nothing to help people like me. All the money has been wasted on leisure centres and luxury housing which none of us could afford even if we were working. This area is just as depressed now as it was when the Cooperation was set up eight years ago. Now, Okay, they opened a few electronics firms, but how many people are unemployed there! My wife used to work in a news agency in the town centre but nearly all the shops had closed down. So she lost her job, too. No one around here has got money to spend anymore.
Woman: Since the Development Cooperation was set up eight years ago, over 3,000 new jobs have been created here. At that time this was one of the most depressed regions in the country. When the shipyard closed down, this affected the economy of the whole area, causing many small businesses and shops to go into liquidation. The spending power has decreased dramatically. The percentage of unemployed people was one of the highest in the country. This has greatly decreased over the last eight years, mainly because we’ve managed to attract new companies to the area as well as foreign investments. A large chunk of our budget has also been spent on training people in skills such as using computers in order to make them more employable.
Man: Many of my staff and people used to work in the shipyard. And after a long period of unemployment in many cases we have been able to give them a training thanks to the grants of Development Cooperation. Our company has effectively created 300 new jobs in this area. And I’m proud we have been able to do our bit. However, far too many people are still looking for work or have to move away in order to find jobs. I sometimes wonder what will happen to this area once the Development Cooperation ceases to exist at the end of next year. I just hope this area can continue to attract new companies.
Man: Like many people in this area, I come from a family of shipbuilders. And I worked as a designer at the shipyard until it was closed ten years ago. Of course, I was worried about my job then, but I was amazed how easily I managed to get into a new career. I was given free training by the Development Cooperation. First, I did a basic course in computing, then my line manager sent me on a more advanced IT course. As well as me personally, I think this area has been affected enormously from the Cooperation. Several new electronics firms opened here in the last six years or so thanks to the incentive offer by the Cooperation, like Loya-nts and Grants to set up companies. Another good thing is that new housing has been built on the site of the old shipyards: and a big new sports complex and leisure centres have just been opened.
Woman: The Development Cooperation offered me training in basic computing skills. The idea.is to get more women into work because traditionally there hadn’t been opportunities for women around here. Well, the course was good. In fact, I did quite well on it. But the problem is out of the 30 women who did it with me, how many of them have got jobs six months later? The figures came out last week. And it turns out only six of us got work: and I only work mornings and not the work I’ve been trained for. The whole idea has its benefits, but it doesn’t work out as planned. I think there are two reasons for that: firstly, there just aren’t enough jobs around here compared to the number of people who were doing courses: the other thing is that there are no childcare facilities. If my husband was working, I couldn’t go out to work as well. There has been no one to look after the children.