More than 100 jobs could be created through new animal health hub
Plans for the SRUC's £11m research centre in Inverness have been approved.
Last updated 6th Jun 2022
A new centre specialising in animal health research could create more than 100 jobs over time.
That's according to Highlands and Islands Entreprise (HIE), after plans for an £11 million hub for Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) was approved by Highland Council.
Work is set to begin at HIE's Inverness campus within the next few weeks and is expected to take around 18 months.
The project's received £6 million from the European Regional Development Fund Scotland Programme and a £4.2m financial transactional loan from the Scottish Funding Council.
SRUC Principal and Chief Executive, Wayne Powell says the centre will be vital for the country's economy.
He said: "This will house our major group focussing on big data on animal health.
"This will be really important for potential early awareness and intelligence regarding future changes arising from climate change, zoonotic diseases, endemic diseases and essentially being able to help Scotland’s food and drink industry maintain bio security."
Mr Powell is hopeful the project will appeal to both business and those wanting to get into the sector.
He added: "When you create a cluster of expertise where you bring together business, academia and Government investment it creates synergy and that’s very attractive to inward investment.
"It’s also going to be attractive to students.
"Students who want to get exposure to business, to develop entrepreneurial skills, all of this is very rich experience.
"We’re very excited about all the opportunities this facility will bring."
High-value jobs and long-term careers for young people
HIE's Director of Business Infrastructure, Ruaraidh MacNeil feels it will be a "massive boost" for the local economy.
He said: "Certainly, at the outset there should be space for about five or six companies and each of these companies hopefully will employ three or four people.
"You could have 30 to 40 jobs being created quite early on.
"The idea is that they will all be growth orientated companies and there will be a degree of churn , so over time there could be over 100 jobs created as a result of this, plus the jobs within SRUC itself.
"It’s a massive boost for the economy the jobs which will be created will be high-value jobs, long-term careers for young people and new people moving into the area."