- UK and Scottish Governments respond to Petroineos' decision to close the refinery with investment in local community
- Forth Valley College mobilised to support affected workers with bespoke skills support
- Energy Secretary reiterates UK Government's willingness to engage on how the National Wealth Fund could fund viable Project Willow outcomes, working with trade unions and industry
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 Ed Miliband and Cabinet Secretary Gillian Martin attended a meeting of the Grangemouth Future Industry Board today (Thursday 17 October) at Forth Valley College alongside UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks, Scotland Secretary Ian Murray, 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 Ed Miliband 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 Gillian Martin 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.
