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European funding worth £29 million was announced for
projects
in the west of Scotland today.
 Deputy
Enterprise Minister Allan Wilson said the investment would create more than
2,700 jobs and would 'make a huge difference to people's lives'.
The Minister was visiting Radio City - a previously disused cinema and bingo
hall in Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, which has been transformed into a state of the
art community facility with the help of European funding.
Mr Wilson said:
"I am hugely encouraged to see what a difference European funding has made
here at Radio City.
"Where once a vacated cinema stood, there is now a modern community facility
featuring a flexible learning centre, a recording studio and a fitness
suite.
"This is just one example of the dramatic and positive effect European
funding can have. The awards I am announcing today will create and support
jobs and modernise facilities to the benefit of entire communities.
"Often funding announcements which quote numbers such as £29 million can
seem hard to quantify when we concentrate simply on the figures.
"What is clear, however, is that every pound will go to projects that will
help improve people's lives. The money will be spent on schemes that provide
training, jobs, education and the kind of facilities every community across
Scotland aspires too."
Examples of the projects that will be supported include:
Cumbernauld College has been awarded £2,588,320 towards the construction of
a new training facility to provide additional teaching space.
It will create 400 new training places to enable the college to meet the
continuing need for basic skills and provide higher level and advanced
qualifications to support workforce development.
In addition to the new training places, 25 new jobs, with a further 15
during the construction period, will be created.
Clydebank College has been awarded more than £5.6 million to assist the
development of a new college campus within the Queen's Quay area.
The new facility will enhance two hectares of brown field land, provide
11,000 new training places, create 42 new construction jobs in addition to
safeguarding 145 teaching jobs and 155 supporting jobs.
It will be the centre of delivery of training through information
communication technology infrastructure connecting three main satellite
centres and up to 60 outreach posts throughout local communities, making
learning more accessible.
The current 2000-2006 Western Scotland Objective 2 Programme will invest
£300 million of European Funds in the area by December 2006.
Funds are targeted on encouraging job creation in areas with urban problems
and declining traditional industries.
Around 750 economic and social regeneration projects have been supported in
this current Programme since 2000.
These projects all make a difference to Western Scotland and are aimed at
helping individuals retrain or gain the skills to get into the labour
market, to support small and medium sized businesses expand and look for new
markets, or to improve the infrastructure for economic development.
European Funds consist of two main kinds of investment.
European Social Fund supports training for people working in the region or
looking for jobs.
European Regional Development Fund provides assistance for people to start
or grow businesses, to develop sites and premises for businesses, to upgrade
tourism facilities, or to support community economic regeneration.
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