Inverclyde Council, the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) and West College Scotland have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a marine engineering centre of excellence at the Inchgreen dry dock site. The agreement commits the three parties to building a full business case for UK Government funding, with training and research capacity designed to feed skilled workers directly into jobs on site.

The plan, outlined by Inverclyde Council, could draw on £20 million of UK Government funding announced in December 2025, subject to the business case being approved, and would focus on marine robotics, naval architecture, plating and welding, spanning both defence and net zero applications.

Inverclyde Council, based in Greenock and covering the Inverclyde local authority area, approved a revenue budget of £260 million for 2025/26. NMIS, headquartered in Renfrewshire within the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland, is operated by the University of Strathclyde as part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult network. West College Scotland, formed from the 2013 merger of Clydebank, James Watt and Reid Kerr colleges, recorded a deficit on continuing operations of £9.5 million for the year to 31 July 2024.

The structural driver behind the Inchgreen proposal is the direct co-location of training and employment, designed to address recurring skills shortages in marine and defence manufacturing by moving apprentices and graduates straight from the classroom into shipyard-based roles rather than through separate recruitment pipelines.

Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council, said Inchgreen "has huge potential" and that the partnership would help "create an environment where people can be trained and then move into quality jobs all at the same location."

Chris Courtney, chief executive of NMIS, said the partnership offers "a brilliant opportunity to create a distinctive centre of excellence" that connects "manufacturing and engineering innovation with education and skills."

For the sector, the Inchgreen plan confirms that further education colleges are becoming embedded partners in UK marine and defence manufacturing strategy, rather than external training providers brought in after infrastructure decisions are made.

Source: inverclyde.gov.uk / ukdefencejournal.org.uk / sfc.ac.uk