The UK and Scottish Governments are jointly stepping up plans to
support workers at the Grangemouth refinery affected by the risk
of redundancy, with immediate investment in skills and
training.
In addition to UK Government and Scottish Government's joint
£100m investment in the Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal,
Forth Valley College will receive funding to deliver bespoke
support for workers affected by Petroineos' decision to
decommission the oil refinery.
Backed by this £100m funding, workers at Grangemouth refinery at
risk of redundancy will be contacted in the coming weeks and
offered tailored support to access new jobs in the local area
that will shape the future of Grangemouth as an industrial hub
for years to come.
Forth Valley College will shortly begin contacting workers to
start building a skills and support package to meet their
individual needs, mapping their current skills and qualifications
to the future skills needed for local clean energy roles in the
area and analysing where the gaps are.
The UK and Scottish Governments will use the findings to deliver
targeted interventions to upskill the local workforce ahead of
redundancies next year.
It comes as UK Energy Secretary and Cabinet Secretary attended a meeting of
the Grangemouth Future Industry Board today (Thursday 17 October)
at Forth Valley College alongside UK Energy Minister , Scotland Secretary , local industry leaders, Falkirk Council, trade bodies
and trade unions.
The £100 million Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal will support
projects and skills interventions in the local area. It is
estimated that the Falkirk & Grangemouth Growth Deal will
deliver over £628 million in economic benefits and create 1,660
jobs across the Falkirk Council area.
The Energy Secretary also reiterated the UK Government's
willingness to engage on how the National Wealth Fund could back
projects that have the potential to yield a viable long-term
future for the site, as part of the ongoing Project Willow
investigation into a viable industrial Grangemouth.
Project Willow is urgently assessing credible options to begin
building a new long-term industry at the refinery site, including
low carbon hydrogen, clean eFuels and sustainable aviation fuels
on the site. The Scottish Government will also soon publish
the draft Grangemouth Industrial Just Transition Plan.
UK Government Energy Secretary said:
We continue to stand with Grangemouth workers and we are putting
money on the table to secure workers good onward employment.
By working in partnership with the Scottish Government, we've
unlocked an unprecedented joint investment plan to support
workers and secure Grangemouth's future, and I will continue to
spare no effort to drive this work forward.
Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
said:
Our immediate priority remains to support the workers directly
affected by the regrettable closure of the refinery. We will do
everything we can to ensure they are supported to retrain and
move into adjacent industries within the wider Grangemouth area.
These workers are highly skilled and have an important
contribution to make locally and nationally. Our investment
will help to unlock valuable new opportunities for them and
ensure that their skills and experience continue to benefit
industry in the area and the wider community.
The new skills and training package is open to workers at both
Grangemouth and Finnart Oil Terminal and will also be supported
by the UK Government's Office for Clean Energy Jobs.
Kenny MacInnes, Principal of Forth Valley College, said:
Forth Valley College are uniquely placed to help and upskill any
Petroineos employees who are impacted as a result of the closure
of the oil refinery, and we will be there to offer the necessary
training and support with the help of funding from the Scottish
and UK Governments.
The College is proud to have had a long term partnership with the
Grangemouth Refinery – helping to train their Modern Apprentices
– and will continue to build on this in our role of making
learning work for the people of Forth Valley to ensure they have
the skills for the future.
We are committed to working with PACE
(Partnership Action for Continuing Employment) and Falkirk
Council to help guide former Petroineos employees onto courses at
Forth Valley College which will help them transfer to new jobs in
another industry or sector.
