I FIND I disagree with the Bolton and District Civic Trust on Bolton and jobs presently (Letters, July 4).

It will not be wise to plan a future regarding jobs access of people in the Bolton borough to one that seeks to isolate Bolton from the Lancashire and Greater Manchester footprints.

There is no need to think in terms of strategy overall that focuses almost exclusively on jobs access in the borough itself.

There is a lot to say about what the council and important partners can do about jobs growth in the borough, much is being attended to and there is success often outlined in the media such as employers attracted to key employment sites like the business parks in Horwich and in Hulton at Logistics North.

A growth in ‘green jobs’ in Bolton would be good, with examples being solar installation and insulation work.

It’s best to put aside any hunches that Manchester or other cities in the North West get special favour when it comes to the locating of jobs and it’s better to look at the evidence.

There are employments sectors for example manufacturing, warehousing and logistics that do not need city location.

However, you may find them there and find them less in the nearby towns.

Often this can be found because employers were provided with what they needed when they looked — good modern premises and a workforce with the right skills.

It is jobs for higher level skills that are growing presently. Examples are advanced manufacturing and engineering such as the production of electrical vehicles, specialist cranes that type of thing. These are jobs that can be accessed from quality apprenticeship routes, not just university degrees.

Unless a town can provide a skilled workforce the companies are unlikely to knock on the door.

There is growth in the service sector jobs that go alongside the higher-skilled jobs; for example food and drink, cleaning, maintenance, but it’s not always large.

This year, digital and technical companies in Greater Manchester have revealed that they have been unable to fill 20 per cent of their level four and level five jobs that were advertised.

These jobs were worth from £30,000 to £40,000 each. If these jobs had been filled, other jobs in the £20,000 to £30,000 range may have been released and so on.

Access to skills training of people in low skilled jobs presently is such a hugely important issue.

The Tory government deplorably fails to fund our Bolton schools and also our colleges enough for the needs of children and adults who need to obtain good skills.

Both the direct access to the higher skilled jobs and the back fill issue on jobs is very important for Bolton.

There are always going to be some good jobs outside of Bolton that people can commute to everyday.

We can promote these jobs to all people in the Borough that can work and especially to those in communities where, when we look, we feel that the growth of the Lancashire or Greater Manchester economy has excluded them.

Many do want the future of job commuting to be more train, bus, cycle and more vehicle sharing based.

Transport is a massive political priority in the borough. Many people want to live in Bolton and work in Bolton, but many people want to live in Bolton and will commute with a growing number understanding the need overall to reduce polluting transport.

The emphasis here is on the people who love living in Bolton and love their particular part of Bolton and what we need is for all of them to get the best access to fairly and well paid jobs.

This increases the pounds spent in Bolton and overall it improves peoples and families lives here.

Cllr Sue Haworth

Harper Green Ward