WEST College Scotland (WCS) has said it intends to make much use of a new £65million centre for advanced manufacturing on its doorstep.

Work on the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland will begin in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, next year.

It will help businesses throughout the country become world leaders in innovation and is also expected to be a catalyst for thousands of jobs.

The University of Strathclyde has been announced as the anchor university.

The site will be easily accessible from the Clydebank WCS campus and principal Audrey Cumberford said it hopes to have a great relationship with the centre.

She said: "This is wonderful news for Renfrewshire, for the wider west region and for our college. The centre will be on our doorstop, easily accessible from our Paisley, Greenock and Clydebank campuses.

"We expect to work closely with it, both in its development stage and in the years ahead.

"We hope eventually it will help shape our curriculum, give our students unique work experiences and provide clear pathways to well-paid, modern, manufacturing jobs.

“The wider college sector will have a hugely important part to play in working with the institute and with business. We must ensure the vocational and technical skills we provide align with the future needs and ambitions of our manufacturing base. We also have to ensure those skills meet the demand of new and emerging technologies."

The Scottish Government will invest £48million in the centre with £8million coming from the University of Strathclyde.

This is as well as the £8.9million announced in June for the Lightweight Manufacturing Centre in Renfrew as a first step towards the wider project.

Renfrewshire Council will provide a further £39.1million through the Glasgow City Region Deal.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement during a visit to the Rolls Royce manufacturing facility.