In strengthening the role of the Waterford Metropolitan Area as a Regional City of Scale and primary economic driver for the region, the following projections for employment across the Metropolitan Area are provided. Projections are in accordance with a Ratio of 1.6:1 between the population growth targets and employment growth in the region as set out in the NPF.
Table 2 | Employment Projections for the Waterford Metropolitan Area
Waterford Metropolitan Area
2019 – 2026
2026-2031
Population increase
14,610
7,305
Additional Jobs
9,130
4,565
8.1 | Technological University of the South-East (TUSE)
The direct benefits of the development of TUSE will coincide with the wider objectives of the MASP to transform and grow the Waterford Metropolitan Area through: • Enhanced innovation capability in the region through considerably enhanced research and innovation infrastructure in support of the regional strategy to build knowledge-intensive industry and sustainable and high-quality employment; • Improved capability to deliver the talent pipeline to regional industry and enterprise; • An improvement in the ability of the South East to retain existing talent and to attract new talent from overseas; • Greater range and volume of cultural activity which is normally associated with a University City; • Greater access to finance to fund infrastructural development on campus sites in the city; • Greater accessibility of higher education opportunities across the city and region.
Waterford is the only major City in Ireland without a University. The creation of the Technological University of the South- East (TUSE) will harness the excellence of education resources, research and innovation, industry, social and community engagement in WIT and IT Carlow, and develop a new university for the City of Waterford and the wider South-East that will be a catalyst for social, cultural and economic change. The MASP supports the development of TUSE as a necessary enhancement of existing higher education options in the Region, along with the increased recognition a University will bring to the Waterford Metropolitan Area as a University City.
Waterford MASP Policy Objective 14
Technological University of the South-East (TUSE) Local Authorities and Public Bodies shall prioritise the development of the necessary infrastructure and connectivity (including research and innovation infrastructure) to support the development of the Multi-Campus TUSE and support its future expansion so as to transform and grow the Waterford Metropolitan Area, subject to the outcome of environmental assessments and the planning process.
Southern Regional Assembly | RSES
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