Every entrepreneur knows you have to speculate to accumulate. This truism could well be adopted by York Inward investment Board as a mission statement.

Today the board revealed that a major law firm is eyeing up York as a potential location for its online operations centre. The name of this potential benefactor is under wraps. But we are assured that if the legal eagles can be persuaded to nest in the city, several hundred high-quality jobs would be created.

To entice them here, the board needs to prove that a trained, well-motivated workforce is on the doorstep. This is where the speculation comes in. Chief executive Paul Murphy today appealed for anyone with relevant experience to send in their curriculum vitae.

It is in all our interests that his invitation is taken up. For those who are suitably qualified, time taken to compile an up-to-date CV could be ultimately rewarded with a better job. And the more who respond, the likelier the law firm is to choose York.

We know this approach works. Around 400 readers responded to a similar Press appeal for CVs. This helped persuade CPP to move to Holgate Road and it now employs more than 350 people.

The search for inward investment is a continual one. North Yorkshire's economic recovery is being built upon diversification. As the traditional industries have declined, the service sector and high-technology businesses have expanded.

This trend will continue. The Malton Clothing factory has just closed, its staff the latest victims of Britain's ailing rag trade. But as long as the region can keep attracting new businesses, there is hope for those willing to retrain and start again.

In the age of the Internet, it is encouraging to learn that a firm is considering siting its online conveyancing operation in York on the day when the largest Internet caf in Yorkshire switched on in Stonegate. It is crucial for this generation and the next that we look to the future.

Tireless work

York's Lions groups work tirelessly for charity. The Rocking Rudolph roadshow at Christmas is just one high-profile example of year-round fundraising.

Now the city's three groups have joined together in an ambitious initiative to raise awareness of glaucoma and diabetic eye diseases. They are also to sell lapel badges to raise money for a digital retina camera for York District Hospital.

The Lions' deserve great credit for taking up this important cause. If they save one individual's sight their work will have been amply rewarded.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.