12/09/2014 – The new owner of Ferguson’s revealed his plans to invest up to £60million at the yard and create at least 300 jobs.

Billionaire businessman Jim McColl said the reborn yard would bid for two new hybrid ferries to be built for Caledonian MacBrayne and, if successful, work could start on the first vessel as soon as next April.

Mr McColl, chairman and chief executive of Clyde Blowers Capital, visited the yard to address a mass meeting of workers and unveil his blueprint for the future, after completing the takeover less than a month after the business went into administration.

He was taking back the 70 workers who lost their jobs, 30 of whom returned, and bringing in naval architects and more design experts.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr McColl said there as great potential for designing a new breed of ships and revealed that he also planned to create ‘an apprentice academy’.

He said: “We expect a healthy demand for ships because of tightening environmental regulations.

“I’m very confident we will be able to get work in here in the next month or two. “We want to be good employers for Inverclyde and bring back vitality to this shipyard, which has such a proud heritage and skilled workforce.

“I hope we will be able to offer significant employment and be a good employer in the area for years to come.”

Mr McColl said he was determined to create apprenticeships for young people

He said: “I know there’s maybe not a lot of opportunity for them to go into engineering. “There are skills that we have here that we really need to build on and pass on to young people, and that’s good news for the future.

“We’re putting a new apprenticeship programme in place.

“We’ll take back the ones that were here and we’re looking to develop an in-house academy to make sure we pass on the workforce’s skills and knowledge to the next generation.

“It’s a bright future for Port Glasgow.”