Response to the Consultation Document on the Development of a Higher Education Strategy for N.I

The Londonderry Chamber of Commerce is the principal business organisation in the North West of Ireland, representing over 450 members. Our membership includes many of the largest employers in the region.

The established priorities for the Chamber are:
• Improving the skills base of the labour market in the North West, with a specific focus on expanding higher education and, through this, producing more people in the labour market with the skills needed by employers today and in the emerging technologies that we expect to see develop in the North West. In particular, this means a substantial expansion in the STEM and creative industries skills at graduate and post-graduate levels.
• DigitalDerry. We are sponsors of the DigitalDerry initiative, which we believe must form the basis for much of the future economic wellbeing of the North West and of future employment growth. We are convinced that the production of relevant skills from a local university presence is central to this vision being achieved.
• City of Culture. We are strongly engaged in City of Culture 2013, which we see as a staging post towards a vibrant commercially-driven cultural community in the city of Derry-Londonderry. We believe that performing arts, creative industries and IT-related undergraduate and post-graduate courses at a local university should be the basis for further expansion and commercialisation of the North West's cultural sector.

The Londonderry Chamber of Commerce is fully supportive of the University for Derry (U4D) project. The Chamber has endorsed the initiative, whose membership includes local business leaders, some of whom are also leaders of the Chamber. The Chamber believes that expansion of the University of Ulster's Magee campus is the single most important policy initiative available to stimulate the economy of the North West. Expansion of Magee would provide the basis for expanding the economy; for the physical regeneration of the city; and for the further strengthening of the social and community foundations of the city. It would provide the skills for the modern economy, without which our city and region will continue to dramatically underperform.

..........to view the full response please download it HERE