Introduction
My name is Scott Wickenden, I’m a 37 year old Jerseyman.
I am standing as an independent deputy candidate for St Helier district 1.
I believe that I have the right skills and experience to help Jersey forward in creating diversity in our economy, reduce spending and to help plan for the future needs of the Island for all.
Career
Following secondary school and collecting my GCSEs I immediately embarked on a diverse series of roles such as a locksmith, graphic designer, barman and shop assistant. These roles served to broaden my understanding of employment and lifestyles on the island.
It was in the latter half of the 1990’s when I started working my way up through the local FinTech industry. During this period, I started as an IT helpdesk analyst and have worked my way up through different technical and managerial roles to being a service delivery management consultant today.
Currently I’m employed as the transition manager for C5 Alliance, where I am responsible for ensuring the services that they provide are arranged and maintained to the highest industry standards.
I have previously worked for a couple of large financial organizations in Jersey and managed a small IT consultancy in central London.
My Pledge
I believe that for Jersey to have long term stability and growth, we need to address how we can build diversity in the economy, reduce unemployment and understand how we are failing some members of society so we can resolve it.
The government has spent too much time recently focusing on government reform and personal issues. My Policies are centred on improving the quality of life for residents now and in the future.
Economy
With the lack of exportable resources in Jersey, we need to look at the digital sector to build the diversity the island sorely needs. I will work towards and support any initiatives that help new and current businesses small and large.
Population
It’s important to have the right information to be able to plan for the future. The government needs to find out what the saturation point for Jersey’s population is and use it to create a robust and informed immigration policy.
Unemployment
Jersey needs to start a war on unemployment, this can only happen by creating new businesses and supporting the current unemployed to help them find the right job that will enrich their lives.
Government Spending
There has been too much growth in the public sector with not enough thought on the financial cost to the budget. I would look at how we can start to reduce our costs by using modern service delivery methodologies to reduce duplication, costs and spending.
Minimum Wage and Living Wage
We need to look at what a living wage in Jersey would be and see how that compares against the current minimum wage to make sure that the government is not failing to support residents at all levels of society.