Highlands & Islands Skills CIC is inviting local residents to attend two community engagement events to discuss the proposed community asset transfer of Torvean Quarry and the plans to transform the site into a new National Infrastructure Skills Centre.
The drop-in sessions will take place at the meeting room at the King’s Golf Course Clubhouse, Torvean, Inverness, from 12:00 noon to 7:30pm on 23 March and 26 March. Members of the public can attend at any time during the sessions.
The proposed Centre will create a major new training facility for infrastructure and construction skills for Scotland in the Highlands. It is expected to support training across civil engineering, plant operations, energy infrastructure and other specialist sectors needed to deliver major projects across the region.
The proposed Centre will create a major new training facility for infrastructure and construction skills in the Highlands, serving Scotland as a whole. This will include specialist training environments designed to replicate real infrastructure projects. Plans include heavy plant training areas, construction and civil engineering training zones, energy and renewables infrastructure training facilities, and workshop and classroom space to support practical and technical learning. The aim is to create a facility capable of supporting large-scale infrastructure training that is not currently being delivered elsewhere in Scotland.
Highlands & Islands Skills CIC believes the development is essential to ensure the country has the workforce needed to deliver the significant infrastructure investment planned for the next fifteen years, including projects linked to the Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport.
National policy has also highlighted the growing need for skilled workers to deliver infrastructure and net zero ambitions. The importance of workforce development has recently been outlined in Scottish Government’s Green Industrial Strategy, the UK Government’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan and SDS Workforce North paper.
Callum Mackintosh, Director at Highlands & Islands Skills CIC, said:
“The Highlands and Islands is facing an unprecedented pipeline of infrastructure and energy projects. If we want those projects to succeed and maximise local value, we need to develop the workforce to deliver them. The National Infrastructure Skills Centre will help ensure the volume of both local workers and those coming into the region for major projects can access the training and upskilling needed, at a time when our industry needs more skilled people than ever before.”
Torvean Quarry offers an ideal location for this national centre. Its large footprint allows space for specialist training environments while also being in close proximity to the city of inverness and all key transport routes for national users.
The proposed development plan for the site will be on display at the events. The plan has been prepared for Highlands & Islands Skills CIC by award-winning Inverness architects ThreeSixty Architecture, the practice behind the very successful redesign of the Victorian Market in Inverness, the RAVIC centre for SRUC at Inverness Campus, and the Phase 2 masterplan for Inverness Campus.
If approved, the project will be delivered in two phases. Phase 1 is expected to require around £6.7 million of investment in buildings and training equipment, with a further £25.5 million planned for Phase 2 as the Centre expands. Once fully developed, the project is expected to create around 50 full-time jobs locally while supporting training and up-skilling opportunities for thousands of people each year.
The engagement sessions are intended to give the local community the opportunity to learn more about the plans to regenerate this site and discuss how further community value can be gained in the long term.
Residents, businesses and industry professionals are encouraged to attend, view the proposals and share their views.