Thousands of young people in the north could be trained to cash in on the massive jobs opportunities in the oil, gas and renewables industries.
The new Highland Science Academy is being developed to tackle a skills shortage and halt the “brain drain” to the south.
It would be built on the multimillion-pound Inverness Campus – but its reach would extend across the region thanks to the use of remote technology.
The centre would have the capacity to equip thousands of young people to benefit from the lucrative job opportunities forecast in the offshore, renewable energy, engineering and life sciences sectors.
It was developed by Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), along with leading firms such as the Global Energy Group, LifeScan Scotland and SSE Renewables.
Local authority leader Drew Hendry said: “There are thousands of jobs forecast in these industries.
“Global Energy has thousands of vacancies coming up for oil, gas and renewables. There is the possibility of thousands of jobs at Ardersier and Kishorn yards.
“The challenge is how many people we can equip with the skills to take advantage of these opportunities. The aim is to give very early access which continues all the way through the education system to encourage students to interact with science, engineering and maths. For many of us who went through school these were very difficult subjects because we weren’t introduced to them in the correct way, but with the right exposure they can be grasped and enjoyed by our youngest children.”
He added: “Employers gain from this because they have a ready workforce on their doorstep and we gain because our people have greater opportunities.
“It helps the community, it helps the economy, it helps redress the drain of young people we have from the Highlands traditionally and makes for a wealthier and fairer Highlands.”
He said the new project would not be an extra financial burden to the council as costs could be met by redirecting funds, and industry partners would also be expected to contribute.
He will present the project to the full council meeting in December and said he believed the academy, if approved, could be up and running before 2017.
HIE director of regional development, Carroll Buxton, said: “The academy would be an integral feature of new premises which HIE and UHI plan to share at Inverness Campus.
“There is a great opportunity to create more than office space here and to establish a centre for effective collaboration between the worlds of education and business.”
Jeff Howarth, UHI vice-principal research and enterprise, said: “This development is not only of enormous significance for the new Inverness Campus but importantly for the whole of the Highlands and islands.
“It signals our joint aspiration to make this an even greater destination for industry to locate and thrive, our absolute determination to equip our young people with the technical skills and the expectations which will enable them to grasp the highest value career opportunities.”
The new science academy plan was hailed by politicians yesterday.
Ross, Sutherland and Caithness SNP MSP Rob Gibson said: “These subjects are absolutely vital to many of the modern jobs that we are going to be attracting to the Highlands in energy and life sciences.
“A science academy is an appropriate step forward for further and higher education in Inverness and around.”
Highlands and islands Conservative MSP Mary Scanlon said the new academy was an “innovative idea”.
She added: “I think the days of enterprise, colleges and schools working separately are long gone.
“The science academy provides a great opportunity for children and pupils of all ages.”
Global Energy Group communications director Alastair Kennedy said: “Retaining and recruiting from a locally-pooled skills-base is not just good for business it’s good for the economy.”
Global was involved in the first meeting held in Inverness along with Rio Tinto Alcan, Skills Development Scotland, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd, Fujitsu, Inverness College, the Centre for Health Science and NHS Highland
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