Up to two hundred new sales jobs are to be created in Glasgow by direct marketing firm Aquira, with the opening of its new sales lab at the city’s Pacific Quay.

The announcement was made at First Minister’s Questions in Parliament today by First Minister Alex Salmond, who described the new jobs as “fantastic news for Glasgow” and “more evidence of the improving employment picture across Scotland”.

The new jobs will be in consumer and business-to-business sales and are being supported by £500,000 Regional Selective Assistance funding from Scottish Enterprise.

First Minister Alex Salmond said:

“Up to two hundred new jobs is fantastic news for Glasgow, creating a very welcome boost to the local economy and presenting new business opportunities in the heart of the city’s digital district.

“The Scottish Government and our agencies are entirely focused on working with business to create new jobs and Aquira will receive £500,000 of support through Scottish Enterprise.

“I know that Aquira have spent two years looking for just the right location to site their new specialist sales facility and it’s no surprise to those of us familiar with Glasgow’s skilled and dedicated workforce that they’ve chosen Scotland’s biggest city.

“This provides yet more evidence of the improving employment picture across Scotland and comes just a day after I announced an £88 million fund to create 10,000 new jobs for young people and 3,000 new small business jobs – and just a day after the publication of very encouraging figures showing 47,000 more people are in work across Scotland.

“Youth unemployment, in particular, has fallen by 6.1 percentage points over the year.

“Last week’s Ernst and Young UK Attractiveness Survey showed that foreign direct investment projects coming to Scotland in 2012 are at their highest level for 15 years. Scotland is ranked number one for inward investment projects outside London, up from number two last year and we have maintained our consistent place as one of the top performers when it comes to attracting employment.

“We are committed to maintaining and building sustainable economic growth in Scotland and delivering the most competitive business environment anywhere in the UK.”

Marilyn Barnes, MD of Aquira, said:

“We see Scotland as a very attractive place to invest in and we don’t see that changing in the future.

“The country is rich in opportunity  which makes it a great place to do business. We think Scotland has some key competitive advantages, not least its strong skills base.”

Lena Wilson, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, said:

“Aquira is a forward-looking and ambitious business with excellent potential for growth.

“Our partnership has already resulted in new, high-quality jobs for Glasgow. We look forward to continuing to work with Aquira as the business develops, and to sharing more successes in the future.

Glasgow MSP Humza Yousaf has welcomed the Scottish Government’s announcement that almost £90m will be invested in a package to tackle youth joblessness across Scotland.

Glasgow will receive almost £2 million of this funding, which will go to support 600 jobs for young people in Glasgow between 16 and 24 who have been unemployed for up to 6 months.

The funds, which have come from the Scottish Government, local councils, Cosla, the European Commission and employers in Scotland, will be used to create sustainable new jobs that are additional to the existing workforce.

Commenting, Humza Yousaf said:

“Young people are Scotland's future, and we must make sure that they are supported during periods of unemployment so they can find a job or training as quickly as possible.

“This funding will help to prevent hundreds of young Glaswegians from falling into long-term unemployment, and will give them valuable experience which will help them progress up the job ladder.

“This action from the Scottish Government shows a steadfast commitment to ensuring that our young people are helped into jobs, acquire the best skills and experience and are equipped with the chance to make progress.

“It also comes in addition to the announcement last month that Webhelp TSC will create almost 300 new positions in Glasgow and a training academy to promote youth employment, showing that the opportunities for young people in our city are growing every day.

“However, we must not be complacent, and this Scottish Government will continue to act while there are still young people who are not in work, training or education in Scotland.

THIS week is Carers Week, an annual event which raises awareness of the huge contribution made by over 650,000 carers across Scotland.

I am pleased to support this year's Carers Week campaign 'Prepared to Care', which is highlighting the impact that caring makes on a person's life, and the support that carers need to make sure they are not left isolated.

Scotland's army of unpaid carers undertake such valuable work, and often with little or no recognition.

We should do everything within our means to recognise this, and provide the support – be it financial, emotional or medical – that they require.

The Scottish Government has invested, and is investing, over £98 million in supporting carers and young carers between 2008 and 2015.

The Scottish Government is also funding in local authorities so that they can continue to fund the extra 10,000 respite weeks that we pledged for carers.

We are also working with carers' organisations as well as other groups to understand and mitigate the impact of the UK Government's welfare reforms on carers.

Many people are unaware of the huge amount that carers do on a day to day basis, and I think it is important that this is emphasised so people can be more prepared if they find themselves in a caring role.

A great way that carers can access information, advice and support is at a Carers Centre.

These centres offer a place for carers to come together and discuss their experiences and problems with other carers as well as trained volunteers.

As caring can be quite isolating, Carers Centres play a vital role in ensuring carers can cope with their responsibilities.

Carers Centres are also community based, and can offer the chance for local carers' voices to be heard by both councils and the Scottish Parliament.

In recognition of the great work done by one of the many centres in Glasgow, I am running the Glasgow Men's 10K next Sunday to raise money for the Greater Pollok Carers Centre.

I've been training over the last few weeks, and I'm sure that the exhaustion I feel when I've been out for a run is nothing compared to how carers feel at the end of each day.

Carers are some of the most politically engaged individuals I know.

Recently, Glasgow has seen a group formed to fight the decision made by City Council to close three day centres for those with learning disabilities.

The Glasgow Day Care Centres Support Group has been working to oppose this decision, with the support of SNP colleagues in the Council and the Parliament.

Last week, the city's SNP MSPs wrote to council leader Gordon Matheson in support of the Day Care Centres Support Group's proposal for a two year moratorium on the centre closures to allow proper partnership working to develop between the group, the third sector and the council.

We all hope that the Council will agree to this moratorium and we can find a way to move forward from this unfortunate decision by Glasgow City Council.

I would like to thank all of Scotland's carers for everything that they do – they truly are indispensable.

Humza Yousaf, Glasgow MSP and Minister for External Affairs and International Development welcomed members of the Shia Community from across Scotland to the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 28th May.

The MSP was closing a Members’ Debate on behalf of the Scottish Government tabled by Sandra White, SNP MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, on sectarian attacks against the Shia community.

Attacks targeting mainly Shia areas in Iraq and Pakistan have tragically killed hundreds of innocent people, including a car bomb attack in Baghdad that happened the day before the debate was held, which killed more than 60 people.

After the debate, leaders and community activists had the chance to comment on the debate, ask questions and hear speeches from MSPs at a lively event.

Humza Yousaf said:

“It was fantastic to be part of such an historic debate. I was pleased to host over 50 members of the Shia community here in the Scottish Parliament. People had come from across the country, from Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh, to listen to MSPs debate this important issue.

“I share everybody’s concern at the level of religious violence in Pakistan, in Iraq and throughout the world that is directed towards Shia communities.

“I wrote to the Consul General of Pakistan in the aftermath of the attacks in Quetta to condemn them, and have assured him that the Scottish Government will offer assistance and work with the Government of Pakistan to do what we can to stop this evil scourge from spreading.

“I have no doubt the new Government in Pakistan will offer a fresh opportunity to tackle the barbaric violence that is directed towards the country’s Shia population.

“In Glasgow I am pleased to say that relationships between the Shia and Sunni communities are very good, and it is extremely important that this bond of common friendship is maintained.

“Religious tolerance is vital for peace and prosperity to flourish in Iraq, Pakistan and across the world, and Scotland is committed to support efforts to achieve that.”

Sandra White commented:

“This debate, the first ever debate on the issue of sectarian attacks on the Shia community, was a milestone for the Scottish Parliament.

Given the escalation in sectarian violence in recent weeks in Pakistan, Iraq and Syria it was vitally important to bring this debate forward

Speaking to the Muslim community afterwards it was clear that we speak with one voice in wanting to end extremist violence whoever it is directed against and that by working together we want to foster an atmosphere of cooperation, understanding and mutual respect”

The Official Report of the debate can be viewed online at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28862.aspx?r=8173&mode=pdf