Oil bosses said yesterday that the closure of a north-east apprentice training centre was “devastating” for the region – if not all of Scotland.
ITCA training’s demise has put 10 staff members out of work and left scores of apprentices scrambling to find places at other centres.
And the blame for the collapse of the Dyce-based outfit has been blamed on firms seeing training budgets as an easy target in the downturn as well as soaring business rates.
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ITCA opened in the north-east in 1989 and became one of the biggest engineering apprenticeship firms in Scotland.
But managing director June Jones warned recently that the organisation was struggling.
A year ago, she said urgent action was needed to address “short-sighted” cutbacks by downturn-hit firms and called for employer incentives to be introduced.
In March, Ms Jones said the company was in a “vulnerable” situation as it faced a reduction in enrolments.
Now Neil Dempsey of Anderson Anderson & Brown has been appointed liquidator after a winding up order was received.
He said ITCA had tried to lower its cost base, but that its efforts ultimately fell short.
“Following discussions between ITCA and the landlord for the company’s trading premises over the rental costs being incurred, and also the impact of the increase in non-domestic rates, the director reached the decision that the company could no longer trade on.”
Ms Jones declined to comment.
Skills Development Scotland (SDS), which delivers the Scottish Government’s Modern Apprenticeship programme, said 125 trainees had been affected by the closure.
But it said it was “working with administrators, employers and training providers to identify alternative training providers”.
Jim Booth, training executive at Tullos Training, said oil companies had to take their share of the blame for ITCA’s closure.
He said: “ITCA’s liquidation came as a shock to us, but every training provider out there is finding it difficult.
“One of the first things to go is training. It seems to be an easy cut for these companies to make.
“Companies have to take some responsibility. They’re the ones who complained about an aging workforce in the industry. To override that, you have to take on apprentices.”
Mick Beavers, managing director of Control Valve Solutions (CVS), said ITCA’s fall would be “devastating” for young people who were not suited to academic careers.
Mr Beavers said CVS had been working with ITCA since 2010 and that several of its trainees were undertaking courses at the centre when it closed.
He said: “It’s not just the oil industry and Aberdeen that’s going to suffer − it’s also the kids leaving school who do not have great career options ahead of them.”
Gary Harris, marketing executive at Ace Winches, said organisations like ITCA were “fundamentally important” for the development of a skilled Scottish workforce that can “compete successfully in the international energy business”.
Mr Harris said Ace Winches had turned to ITCA for training for more than 20 years, in which time the two businesses had helped well over 100 modern apprentices complete the programme.
He added: “The region will be worse off without ITCA and they will be deeply missed.”