DEMAND for engineering has forced Borders College bosses to look to Tweedbank for a new classrooms.

The Galashiels campus at Netherdale has no more space for any additional courses.

And the College has now applied to turn a former industrial unit at nearby Tweedbank into a lecture room and workshop.

During a Youth Employment Seminar in 2011, hosted by MP Michael Moore, a request was made for engineering education to be provided in the Borders.

Apprentices had been making two-hour round trips to Edinburgh for classes.

Two courses - NC Electrical Engineering and SVQ Performing Engineering - were introduced at Borders College in August, 2012.

And an HNC Electrical Engineering course was added the following year.

The number of successful applications for the introductory-level courses has risen from 66 in 2013/14 to 89 for this current year.

But College chiefs are struggling to accommodate the growing engineering prospectus.

A spokesman said: “Initially the College investigated providing resources for delivery of Mechanical Engineering but the current facilities available to the college are insufficient and inappropriate to deliver the Mechanical Engineering curriculum.” It is hoped that a new lecture area and workshop at Tweedbank could accommodate up to five staff and 16 students each day.

The spokesman added: “Borders College faces a significant deficit in the estates facilities available to deliver an engineering curriculum.

“In order to meet this deficit, facilities are urgently required that would enable workshop and classroom space to be created.

“The unit at Tweedbank is viewed as an ideal facility to meet this requirement.” Scottish Borders Council will consider the change-of-use application - from industrial to educational - over the coming weeks.