A petition has been launched by union Unite calling for the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) to reverse its decision to close a training college in Renfrewshire.

Unite claims up to 100 jobs are at risk at CITB's Inchinnan National Construction College as the organisation plans to withdraw from directly providing specialist construction training and instead outsource these services to a private training provider.

The union added there is no guarantee a private provider would remain on the current site, and if a provider cannot be found then it could result in no provision for critical specialist training in many trades in Scotland, including scaffolding and ceiling fixing.

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The petition is designed to put pressure on Peter Leuner the new chair of the CITB, who Unite said is considered to be a champion of construction apprenticeships.

Regional Officer, David McGurk, said: "The CITB's decision to divest themselves of training has enormous implications. Selling the National Construction College at Inchinnan to a private provider could signal the end of apprentice training in specialist trades in Scotland. A private provider will simply not be willing or able to absorb potential financial losses.

"The Inchinnan facility is a high value, permanently full training centre that provides quality training for the construction industry in Scotland.

"The decision to sell off Inchinnan, is a disservice to industry and the employers who the CITB are supposed to represent.

"The proposed sell-off has no tangible benefit for anyone. Peter Lauener the new CITB chair needs to get a grip of his organisation, reverse the process and save the CITB's specialist training in Scotland."

(LM)