IT WAS like the X Factor," says Jane Gibson, laughing. "Thousands of people were queueing round the block of The Wedge centre in Pollok at the two open days. We were all so excited."

No wonder. For many of those waiting, it was like winning the TV show.

The stakes were high.

Up till now, jobs in the Pollok area have been like gold dust and many of those queueing had been out of work for years.

For the ones lucky enough to get jobs, it's a great chance to be part of something on their own doorstep.

Security boss: It's a new era for Pollok THE centre's new security supervisor John Casey says the centre is giving a fantastic boost to the area. The 47-year-old father of two moved to Pollok from Cardonald three years ago to buy a house on a new estate. "In the past few years, Pollok has started to pick up slowly but surely and house prices are going sky high," he says with satisfaction. John, whose wife, Victoria, 38, is a bank manager, gave up his private hire taxi business to take the job at Silverburn. "I used to run my own security business but gave up when the children came so that I could look after them." Security is his passion though. He started up a neighbourhood watch on his estate and is on the Crime Prevention Panel and he jumped at the chance to get back into the business. "I'm big-time excited about this. We're starting from scratch and bringing in new policies and everyone is trained in first aid. McLellan's, the company I work for, is running the security for the whole centre." He grinned. "This is not just a job to me. Silverburn is fantastic for the local community and is going to give it a huge boost. "There are not a lot of jobs in the area and this is going to bring thousands of people here." How the Fort led the way THREE YEARS ago, another huge out-of-town shopping complex came to the rescue of one of Glasgow's most deprived East End communities. The Glasgow Fort, just off the M8, has since helped regenerate the area and boosted the local economy as well as improving transport links. More than 2000 jobs have been created at the retail centre with over 1000 of them going to local people. And recently, the Fort announced plans for a £25m expansion which would create a further 500 jobs. The Glasgow Fort Partnership was set up to help local people into jobs and there has been sustained collaboration between the public, private and voluntary sectors. Councillor Jim Coleman, deputy leader of Glasgow City Council and chairman of Greater Easterhouse Partnership, believes that The Fort has been the ideal template for Silverburn. "The Fort was one of the biggest developments in the East End for years and a lot of planning went into it to get local people into jobs. We had to work with colleges and future employers as well as employees. "But it was a slow process," Councillor Coleman added. "Some people were quite unused to the labour market and one of the lessons learned was that if you are going to get local people into jobs, training is crucial."

Half of all retail staff come from the local area and half of those were previously unemployed, some for years.

Parts of the south west of Glasgow include some of the most deprived areas of the city with high levels of unemployment and a legacy of poor housing.

But the £350million purpose-built Silverburn retail development at Pollok has injected new hope into the area.

Hope for people like Jane, 53, who has lived in South Pollok for virtually all her life and can't believe her luck in getting a job just a five minute walk from her home.

From her brand new office, she can look out of the window and see her house.

Jane, a grandmother, who lives with her husband Frank, 57, an NHS maintenance worker, was thrilled to get the job in administration.

It was hard to take when she was made redundant two years ago after 26 years with William Hill, bookmakers, in the city centre.

She had assumed she'd be there until her retirement and her self-confidence took a bad knock.

She was also worried that her age would count against her with a new employer.

But that hasn't been an issue - particularly since she has brushed up her computing skills with a course through Equip, the local training facility.

It was Equip which pointed Jane in the direction of Silverburn.

Jane has seen Pollok through the good times and the bad times.

"This place is like a village and we've gone through a lot of changes since my parents came here from the Gorbals when I was a baby.

"It got pretty bad at one time," she admits, "but with the old tenements having been pulled down and a new health centre and shopping centre, it is definitely on the up.

"We've gone from a shopping centre with just a few little shops to this huge place. I can look at it from both the point of view of a consumer and a worker and I think it's wonderful "And Silverburn is so handy for everywhere, just off the motorway or by public transport."

Mo Silva (full name Mauricio Ribeiro Silva) from Govan is already a success story at Silverburn.

He's only been in the job for three weeks and already, he's cleaned up - he's been promoted to cleaning supervisor.

For the 41-year-old Brazilian, whose 42-year-old wife, Marilyn, is a Glaswegian, it's a dream come true and at last, he can see a future in his adopted country.

He met Marilyn when she was on holiday in Brazil.

At home, he worked on the family farm and as a receptionist in the hotel business.

"But I followed my heart to Scotland."

He found it hard to find any work that made the most of his skills.

Out of the five jobs he's had since he came to Scotland 15 years ago, this is the only one, he says, where he feels he can have a future and eventually think about buying his own home.

It's not just that Mo is getting paid much more than he was getting in his last job in a fish factory in Newton Stewart.

It's also that he's been encouraged to do his best and gets good feedback.

Mo gave up the Newton Stewart job a few months ago because he felt he was going nowhere and he and Marilyn moved up to Govan in the hope that there would be more opportunities for him.

"I thought I'm 41 and I'm going nowhere,'" he confesses.

At first, he was in despair.

"I was out of work for several months and I had many rejection letters.

"I thought I was never going to achieve anything.

"Sometimes, I can't find the words to express how happy I am now. I am telling the truth.

"I am proud to work here. No one ever gave me a chance before.

"I want to keep working here until I retire."