FROM the outside, it's just a grey building three minutes walk from the Golden Jubilee and across the car park from Nursery Times by the River.

But inside the non-descript warehouse and between it and the Clyde is a high-tech training facility unlike anything else of its kind in Scotland.

The new £3.5 million Clyde Training Solutions (CTS) base opened to its first sessions last Tuesday and is expected to welcome 5,000 visitors each year to Clydebank for sessions lasting up to five days - a potentially big boost to the local economy.

Ground was only broken in May on the site and already there are enquiries from as far away as Ireland and Australia wanting to make use of the mini campus, one the firm aims to expand even further in the coming years.

It is set to make Clydebank a destination for giving the mandatory training to workers on offshore vessels and in the oil and gas industries.

In the main grey building is a large tank of water where trainees practice getting in and out of life rafts or get dropped in a faux helicopter - HUET (Helicopter Underwater Escape Training) module - and watch the water filling up around them before they have to get the windows out and escape up to the surface - all essential in the event something happens in the North Sea or elsewhere.

There is another dummy helicopter on a helideck outside with modified small shipping containers designed for fire training to escape smoke and other potentially deadly situations.

Kris McDonald, centre manager, has been through all the training himself and is used to the water, but admits some who take the courses won't even be able to swim.

He said: "We will get people a bit nervous - they might not like the water or confined spaces, but it's up to us to get them through it in case they are ever in that situation. It's certainly challenging.

"People find by the end of the training that they get a lot out of it.

"You start off in easier exercises and as you progress your skill level increases - you find you get better results if you take things slow.

"It doesn't matter how much training you do, there's going to be anxiety. But when you hear water coming up the side and come out the window, you feel you have achieved something and you feel confidence.

"You get the non-swimmers through training and see the smile on their faces and you can see the confidence."

The industry puts top priority on health and safety from day one, says Mr McDonald.

"For the new entrants, they do have a fairly good understanding of the safety of the industry. It's an industry that prides itself on health and safety. That culture trickles down through all companies."

The firm hopes to offer themselves to companies with ideas for new equipment or techniques they can test out in this environment, potentially attracting more business to Clydebank or even inspiring local business ideas.

Phase two, to go between the current building and the car park for the nursery, which now has CTS upstairs, will start planning in January and there is room to expand even beyond that.

One day, they hope to be doing training launches of life-craft into the Clyde.

Why Clydebank? It's almost for romantic reasons.

"This is a permanent and growing facility," said Mr McDonald. "There's a lot more we could do here.

"There was a massive historic industry in Clydebank. To have a maritime company growing something like this in this area is almost romantic."

Courses at CTS, part of the Clyde Group, follow the Standards of Training Certification and Watch keeping (STCW) and are accredited by Marine Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Colin McMurray, CTS director, added: “This facility can match any of the top marine and offshore training centres in Europe, with our accredited maritime training offering now conducted by our specially selected team of experienced industry trainers.

“Clyde Training Solutions marks a new chapter in the history of the Clyde Group and a leap forward for one-stop-shop maritime and offshore training; available to delegates in the UK and further afield.”