THEY were the hands that built Scotland's industrial reputation and waved off vast ocean-going liners and warships to faraway seas. Welders, engineers, riggers, pipe fitters, crane operators: skills that once formed the backbone of the Scottish workforce seemed to be redundant in the 21st century.
But when the economy is in crisis, and the financial services sector, upon which the nation has relied so heavily, is contracting, it is time to go back to the future.
In what the Scottish Government believes is a vital step to ensure the future of the country's historic shipbuilding industry, a campaign was launched yesterday to attract new generations to master the old ways.
The Scottish Enterprise drive will seek to encourage more than 1,000 new recruits to work on a multi-billion-pound Ministry of Defence contract.
Although they will be hired predominantly to build Royal Navy aircraft carriers, key figures in Scottish industry believe this will act a springboard, creating a workforce capable of serving the entire engineering sector for years to come.
It is an initiative that seeks not only to counter the current downturn but also, according to Jim Mather, the enterprise minister, to "broaden businesses" and "grow industries" during an unforgiving economic climate.
"Scotland will not simply sit back and wait for things to get better," he said.
The move will also, in part, reclaim the proud heritage of Scottish shipbuilding which has been a vital cog of industry, especially in Glasgow, since the 19th century.
More than 22,000 ships have been built on the banks of the Clyde in the past 200 years.
In the late 1800s, Scotland produced nearly a third of all ships built worldwide, while the year before the start of the First World War, a remarkable 756,976 tons of shipping were launched from Scottish yards.
That was more than the combined production of the United States and Germany.
Despite a long and painful decline that began in the middle of the 20th century, the sector is now performing respectably.
The latest available Scottish annual business statistics, while not taking into account the economic turmoil of the past 12 months, suggest Scottish shipbuilding has bucked a national trend of decline.
Between 2000 and 2006, its gross value added (GVA) – which measures the industry's contribution to the UK economy – rose by 17 per cent from £180 million to £210 million, while the overall UK shipbuilding GVA fell by 2 per cent, from £800 million to £790 million.
Indeed, in 2006, shipbuilding in Scotland accounted for 30 per cent of the industry's turnover and GVA in the UK as a whole, and it employed nearly a quarter of UK shipbuilding's entire workforce.
Today, Scotland's shipbuilders directly employ some 5,400 people. More than 125 companies are involved in the design, manufacture and support of complex warships and specialist ships, with sales worth about £530 million each year.
A report last year by the Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University revealed that the contribution of BAE Systems' Surface Fleet Solutions to the Scottish economy increased from £253 million in 2006 to £392 million 12 months later.
For every 100 people it employed on the Clyde, a further 68 jobs were supported in other industries.
So shipbuilding is already a sizeable industry, but it is hoped the three-year Scottish Enterprise campaign, backed by the leading ship manufacturers Babcock Marine and BVT Surface Fleet, will improve its standing further.
"The shipbuilding industry is a growing and vibrant business, which is welcome news in what is currently a climate of economic uncertainty," said Ian McMahon, the head of the aerospace, defence and marine team at Scottish Enterprise.
"However, we need to ensure that we retain the vital skills that make Scotland the leading centre for high-technology warship construction and repair, and it is through initiatives such as this campaign that we aim to do so.
"It is now that we must take steps to sustain our industry for the future."
He went on: "It's a great example of industry and government working together to secure and grow an important trade for Scotland – and to create a workforce able to serve the engineering industry in the long term.
"With the Future Aircraft Carrier project on the immediate horizon, and more ships in the pipeline, shipbuilding yards are gearing up for the future.
"There has never been a better time to launch a campaign to recruit and train engineers to meet the demands that this will bring."
The £525,000 marketing campaign – entitled "The Future is Ship-Shape" – aims both to boost the existing shipbuilding workforce and to replace older workers who are nearing retirement age.
It is targeted at school-leavers, adult apprentices, university graduates and skilled workers in other sectors.
The wide range of job opportunities available includes apprentice engineers, designers, welders, electricians, pipe fitters, riggers, crane operators, naval architects, project managers, accountants and administrators.
The campaign will take the form of radio advertisements and promotions, a new website and online social networking advertising. In addition, promotional packs will be sent out to some 32,000 pupils in Glasgow schools.
Mr Mather said the campaign represented a dynamic way of battling difficult economic conditions.
He said: "Scotland is a significant player in the shipbuilding and marine industry, and this campaign will drive the development of a new, skilled workforce capable of serving the future needs of the industry in Scotland.
"This is a key example of innovative marketing to broaden our businesses, grow our industries and, most importantly, create more jobs in Scotland."
John Howie, the managing director of the warships division at Babcock Marine, said: "We hope that the significant investment being made will encourage a greater understanding of all aspects of engineering, supporting organisations like Babcock, who wish to attract Scotland's brightest talent into what is already an exciting and innovative industry."
BACKGROUNDWHEN the ink dried on the £3.9 billion contract for two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers, it was hailed as an historic moment for Scottish shipbuilding. The two supercarriers, the most powerful ships ever constructed in the UK, will safeguard thousands of jobs.
Giant sections of the ships will be built at the BVT Surface Fleet yard at Govan on the Clyde, sustaining more than 3,000 jobs. The assembly of the ships will take place at Babcock Marine yard in Rosyth, securing about 1,600 posts. The ships will be almost 1,000ft long – 300ft longer than the existing ageing Invincible-class carriers, and double the width.
However, the project has attracted controversy over the wisdom of investing in such huge ships. It also emerged last month that the ships, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, will be delayed for up to two years, to rescue the Ministry of Defence from a £1.5 billion budget shortfall.
The generation game welding youth to experience
New faces Scott Ballingall and Terri Young
APPRENTICE Terri Young has welding in her blood.
The 17-year-old is following in both her father and grandfather's footsteps in training for a trade which will see her work on the Royal Navy's latest aircraft carriers.
Ms Young, from Rosyth in Fife, joined Babcock Marine in the town's dockyard six months ago after completing a welding course at college.
Her father, George, worked at the dockyard until moving to a Glenrothes firm two years ago, while her grandfather, Jimmy, is a retired welding engineer.
She said: "I did not want to do a female-related job. Most of my friends are retail assistants, but there is much better money in welding.
"I'm one of only two girls among the 15 apprentices, but we all get on really well. I'm not sure when I'll be starting work on the aircraft carriers, but I can't wait."
At BVT Surface Fleet's Govan yard in Glasgow, Scott Ballingall is already getting to grips with naval hardware.
The 20-year-old from Erskine, who is in his third and final year as an apprentice fabricator, is working on the type 45 destroyer Defender.
He won one of 70 apprenticeships from among 1,000 applications after being inspired watching ship launches in the Clyde as a youngster. He hopes to work his way up to shipyard management.
He said: "I was taken to launches by a pal's dad who was a draughtsman. I used to watch them going into the water and started thinking about how a ship becomes a ship.
"Anyone with an interest should definitely think about it. It's a great opportunity and there are so many different aspects – it is not just putting metal on metal.
"It gives you a trade for life that could be transferred to other industries."
What they'll build – a battling behemoth DISPLACEMENT: 65,000 tonnes. Length: 280m (similar in size to QE2). Six metres taller than Nelson's Column.
SPEED: 25-plus knots.
CREW: 1,500 officers and men – and women.
AIRCRAFT: 40, such as F-35B fighters. Or 25 Chinook helicopters.
PROVISIONS: 1,000 tonnes of food – enough to feed crew for six weeks.
FLIGHT DECK: nearly 13,000sq m – equivalent of 49 tennis courts or three football pitches.
HANGARS: 29,000sq m – equivalent to 12 Olympic swimming pools.
SCHEDULE: HMS Queen Elizabeth expected to enter service around 2016. HMS Prince of Wales two years later.
CONSTRUCTION: Four main companies involved – Babcock Marine, BVT Surface Fleet, BAE Systems Submarine Solutions and Thales Group.
SCOTLAND: Work in Govan, Glasgow, will be worth more than £650 million, and work in Rosyth, Fife, more than £675 million.
Commentary: Revival is not quite that simpleRichard Harris THE manufacturing sector is suffering. But you need to develop firms in areas where there will be long-term development and high-end jobs.
History shows us that simply trying to prop up an industry does not work. Instead, there needs to be a proper policy of trying to attract, create and sustain the right kind of industry that will prove viable.
A declining skillset is one thing affecting manufacturing, but simply training people is not the solution by itself; it's not that simple. People will be reluctant to train where there is no clear long-term future.
There are also other aspects that are important, such as government procurement.
You can help the manufacturing sector by helping companies to upgrade technologically, and you can provide support through grants that are viable and offset the cost of things like R&D. But grants have to be targeted and have built-in aims.
A company based in Scotland simply cannot compete with a company in China if it is making certain products. You can't just say, "Let's increase manufacturing". There needs to be a demand and we need to be looking at manufacturing that is knowledge-based and ideas-related. That is the way to build up the sector long term.
• Prof Richard Harris is chair of applied economics and director of the Centre for Public Policy for Regions, University of Glasgow.
