Question reference: S5W-08456
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 28 March 2017
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Current status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 26 April 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that the Transition Training Fund was used for training courses to help unemployed oil and gas workers maintain their safety certification, and whether this support is still being provided.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s £12 million Transition Training Fund is focused on supporting people who have lost or face losing their jobs in the oil and gas sector and the support will help to transition into other roles in the oil and gas industry, and other energy industry and manufacturing employment. To date, more than 1900 individuals have been supported with training support while up to a further 755 are being provided with employment opportunities through two larger scale procurement rounds. The Fund is providing support by offering grants to individuals to support redeployment through retraining and upskilling. The fund is also helping people with the costs of maintaining any licences needed to work in the sector, and develop options to enable individuals to bring their skills and expertise into teaching. To note, the applicant will be required to give evidence of current job opportunities within the marketplace before receipt of support from the fund.