A NEW rural skills training centre at Carsphairn is set to get £131,960 from Dumfries and Galloway Council.
A proposal will go before the Economy and Resources Committee next week to award the sum to Carsphairn Community Woodland Trust (CCW) to enable construction of the centre.
Its construction will enable CCW to offer a skills development programme that will provide a pathway for local young people into employment in the forestry sector.
Councillor David Inglis said: “Our region has a shortage of training provision for rural skills and the forestry industry. A recent assessment identified a requirement for 1700 workers in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry in our region between 2026 and 2033, to account for industry growth and replacement of existing staff.
“Providing members agree, the CCW investment will assist the local community in Carsphairn to address some of the economic pressures that are causing outward migration of its young people, helping them to live locally and to flourish.”
It is a charitable company which was registered in 2018 as a specific vehicle for managing the community asset transfer and ongoing management of Muirdrochwood Forest from Forestry and Land Scotland with assistance from the Scottish Land Fund.
Their core mission includes the creation of forestry related employment and training opportunities and to create opportunities for smaller contractors who are better suited to the scale of the community forest that it manages.
