Grangemouth: New cash for local college to support refinery workers

The Scottish and UK Governments have provided additional cash to support Grangemouth workers at risk of redundancy with skills and training.

Forth Valley College has received funding to build a package of support, including tailored help to access new jobs and support to identify skills gaps.

Petroineos confirmed last month that the oil refinery would cease operations in spring 2025, putting 400 jobs at risk.

The site will become an import hub requiring only a fifth of the current workforce. Statutory consultation on redundancy arrangements began three weeks ago.

UK energy secretary Ed Miliband said the government was “putting money on the table” to help workers. He added: “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.”

The cash is in addition to the Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal, a £100m pot of money that seeks to support the wider area.

Forth Valley College will shortly begin contacting workers to start building a skills and support package to meet their individual needs, mapping 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. 

Scottish net zero and energy secretary 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.”

Of the 475-strong workforce, up to 250 will see their jobs disappear within three months of the refinery shutting next spring.

Around 100 will be kept on for between six and 12 months for decommissioning purposes, and 20 will be retained for slightly longer for the demolition process. 

Both governments have been criticised for not doing enough to support Grangemouth workers before now.

Trade union Unite said the plan to close the refinery without a plan for its future was “an act of industrial vandalism”.

General secretary Sharon Graham said last week: “Unite will not allow Scotland’s only refinery to be mothballed with the loss of hundreds of jobs. It doesn’t matter the colour of a party’s rosette, Unite will always ferociously hold the government to account when they are wrong and putting jobs at risk.”