swiss label - Com Consulting SA

Laura Sadis
Member of the Consiglio di Stato
Director of the Department
of Finance and Economy
In this climate of increased global competition between regional
systems, skills and quality of life can make all the difference. The
higher the skill levels the lower the risk of creating forms of
temporary employment and social exclusion, an inherent danger in an
ever more competitive economic system.
For this reason the canton of Ticino – a small region in the heart of
Europe, which with its skills and its specific regional, historical and
cultural characteristics represents added value for the entire Swiss
Confederation and enhances the value of the “made in Switzerland”
brand all over the world – has made strengthening the link between
education, work and economic growth a primary objective which over
the next few years will continue to be the keystone to encouraging
sustainable and durable economic growth, as well as social cohesion.
Basic education and lifelong learning, research and the transfer of
knowledge are fundamental tools for people and for companies, for
dealing with change and for always being ready to accept new
challenges, above all at times of crisis, which are met head on with
enterprise and a capacity for planning, and not simply endured. On
the other hand, we must also be conscious of the fact that, regardless
of the economic cycle, we live in a society that is constantly asking us
to respond in new and different ways. We live in a world undergoing
constant and rapid transformation, the result both of change in the
international economic system, which has become so much more
competitive with markets that are ever more open and interconnected,
and of technological development, with the advent of new types of
employment and business management.
In Ticino we have an infrastructure of industry and services to
industry that has made strenuous efforts to innovate and remain
competitive. In some areas there are pockets of excellence that are
recognised all over the world. These are small and medium-sized
enterprises that have made consistent investments in research and in
training their employees and which therefore have a solid base from which
they can overcome even the most difficult economic circumstances.
Even in the financial sector – of which Ticino is the third largest market
in Switzerland – the basic conditions exist for dealing with current
developments in a positive way. Against the background of a bitter
commercial battle over financial management at an international level,
there is no doubt that certain external factors are changing forever the
frame of reference for financial markets at both national and cantonal
level. However, we have all the professional qualities, experience and
tools needed to adapt to these changes and to create the added value
that comes first and foremost from offering new services and skills at
an ever higher level.
Swiss Label Ticino 2010
Department of Finance and Economy
Skills and quality that make the difference
Despite the serious international economic crisis, the Ticino economy
still has some important trump cards that it can play to strengthen its
regional competitiveness, from the financial sector to industry, from
technological development to tourism, thanks to the entrepreneurial
spirit and public policies that provide support in particular for
training and research and for innovative activities with high added
value.
This commitment on the part of the government has remained
constant despite the need to maintain strict control over the growth in
public finances. And we must not forget that structurally sound public
finances are essential to the appeal of the economic marketplace, not
just in terms of fiscal pressure (in the last two years Ticino has seen
some important reforms to the benefit of both businesses and private
individuals), but also more generally to protect those public services
and the ability to plan that are so indispensable for making a region
competitive. Education, the way in which institutions work, security,
mobility, sound management of the region and its environmental
resources are all elements that cannot be separated from the instruments
of economic growth in the strict sense of the word.
The development policies implemented in the canton of Ticino are
moving in this direction, in the belief that to consolidate the economic
infrastructure, by developing skills and technological innovation and
protecting jobs, it is necessary to maintain a series of effective and
consistent conditions for businesses and for people’s quality of life,
with durable and sustainable development models, within a framework
of balance between urban centres and outlying areas and of making
the best use all the resources the region has to offer.
Dipartimento delle finanze e dell’economia
Residenza governativa - CH-6500 Bellinzona
Tel. 0041 91 814 44 60 - Fax 0041 91 814 44 23
E-mail: dfe-dir@ti.ch - Website: www.ti.ch/dfe
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