MIGRANTS and refugees who have started a new life in Renfrewshire are being given a helping hand to study for qualifications.

West College Scotland (WCS) is using a funding boost of almost £100,000 to provide a laptop, two years of internet access and a MiFi wireless router to students who would otherwise be hindered by the digital divide.

The cash, from the Scottish Government’s Connecting Scotland initiative, will pay for 90 such kits to support further education students who are from low-income households or digitally-excluded families or are young care leavers.

Among those to benefit are those studying hospitality, business and ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) courses.

It is hoped that giving these learners the opportunity to study without the barriers of being digitally excluded will mean they have a better chance of gaining the qualifications that will lead to employment.

Paisley-based WCS is supporting the New Scots Refugee Integration strategy 2018-2022, which helps asylum seekers and refugees rebuild their lives from the day they arrive in Scotland.

College bosses said many students are on low income or benefits and can’t afford the IT resources they need for learning. Many also lack confidence in the use of IT and some have no internet connection at home.

Angela Pignatelli, Assistant Principal (Creativity and Skills) at WCS, said: “We’re delighted to have been successful in this third round of Connecting Scotland bids.

“This funding is critical in bridging the digital poverty divide across the regions we serve, some of which are the most deprived areas in Scotland.

“Equipping our students with Chromebooks and MiFis will help enable them to engage with their studies and goes a long way to ensuring that no-one is left behind.”